sjhorner9475
Well-Known Member
On this forum we frequently see requests for advice from those seeking to buy their first or subsequent Benny, and members who readily share their advice and counsel. I bought my first boat, a 2013 Bennington 2375 GCW. I did this after a great deal of online research, visiting boat dealerships and boat shows but without the benefit of this forum. As it turned out, I think I made a great decision going with Bennington and my wife and I loved the boat.
I bought my second boat, a 2019 Bennington 25 QCWA in December of last year. Once again, I did a lot of research and this time around had the benefit of and used this forum extensively. We entered the buying process with the thought of “Buying our last boat first”. However, my dealer assures me I will be back in another five to seven years to buy an even better boat but we will have to wait and see about that.
Although I took possession of my boat in early December, the weather in middle Tennessee has been so bad that it is only in the last couple of weeks that we have been able to get out on the boat for an extended period of time and put her through the paces. Having done so I thought I would put my reflections in writing, hoping others might find them useful when they begin the process of buying a new boat. I will do this by comparing the new boat, a Q, to my old boat, a G. I hope you find the information below helpful but remember it is my opinion, and when combined with a couple of dollars you can buy yourself a cup of coffee. My apologies up front for the length of this post.
Overall looks: The Q is definitely sleeker and more luxurious than the G, with the curved bow panels and tower. Every single person I have encountered at the marina and on the lake has complemented me on the boat, especially the front panels. However, the curved front panels make getting into the slip a little more challenging as we don’t have a lot of room to maneuver and you cannot lean against the curved panels and maintain your balance. We went with the tower on the Q, an option I don’t think was available on the G in 2013. Again, lots of compliments received. The tower allows us to use a wake board rack to hold our wakeboard and skis when underway. The speakers on the wake tower also make it great to hear the music when we are in the water.
Seating: Even though we had upgraded the seats in the G to the pillowtop seats, the seats in the Q are firmer, more supportive and nicer looking. This is great when you are spending several hours on the boat in a single outing. My wife and I are often out on the boat for five to seven hours at a time. One thing I do not like about the bow seats in the Q, is the curve of the seat line resulting in a loss of depth of the seat, front to back, at the most forward point. It reduces storage space and comfort as compared to the G. We went with the “Extra-wide” captains and co-captains chairs on the Q at the recommendation of our dealer. I don’t notice that much difference from the standard chairs and if I were to do it all over again, I would not add the extra-wide chairs.
Simtex Vinyl: The Q has the new upgraded Simtex vinyl. It has more of a fabric feel and seems to breath as compared to the traditional vinyl of the G. (I know you can get the Simtex vinyl on the G now.) One negative in my opinion is the Simtex seems to get hotter in the sun than the traditional vinyl, but not so hot that you cannot sit on it. According to Bennington and the manufacturer of the Simtex vinyl, there is no need to use Aerospace 303 and cleaning is simple using a wet microfiber cloth. At this point we have had no need to clean the Simtex. We cleaned the traditional vinyl on the G with a small amount of Dawn dishwasher detergent in a bucket of water, rinsed, and then treated with 303 three times a year. After six years our seats still looked brand new.
Cleats: The Q has the pop-up cleats the G did not. The pop-up cleats improve the overall appearance and from a safety perspective help prevent tripping injuries and stubbed toes.
Engine hp: You will read many times on this forum buy as much horsepower as you can afford. We had a Yamaha 150 hp engine on the G. It provided the power we needed for watersports but from day one I wished I had gone with a bigger engine. We put a Suzuki 250 hp on the Q. My original plan was to go with 300 hp but my dealer convinced me that I would not see much difference in speed between with the added 50 hp. So far, I am happy with the 250 hp but we have not really put it to the test with watersports yet. The Q is two foot longer and heavier than the G but the added horsepower gets us about 12 more miles per hour at wide open throttle.
Engine Brand: On this forum you will find many individuals that are wedded to certain brand engines. When I asked my dealer and mechanic about engine brands, each said all the major manufacturers, Mercury, Yamaha, Evinrude, and Suzuki, were well made engines and I would be happy with any one of them. On the G we had a Yamaha and never had any issues with it. On the Q we went with a Suzuki partially because Suzuki was running a special with a six-year warranty, longer than any other manufacturer at the time we placed our order, and partially because numerous mechanics highly recommended the Suzuki saying they thought it was the best made engine currently.
Rigging/Gauges: In the G we had analog rigging and gauges with a Garmin depth finder. The Q has digital rigging and gauges that provide more information than I will probably ever use and the display is customizable allowing you to display the information you are most interested in. The Q also has the Simrad GPS with multiple customizable displays as well. This is a significant enhancement over the G and I don’t think I would own a boat without the digital rigging now that I have experienced it.
Cover: The cover on the Q seems to be a little lighter but just as durable as the one on the G. I like the use of the clips on the new covers as opposed to the snaps, although there are still snaps bow and stern. The fewer snaps on the rails helps with the overall appearance of the boat. I like that the cover at the bow on the Q, is attached at the rails as opposed to rub rail on the G. This makes putting the cover on while it is trailered much easier. For a great tutorial on how to take the cover off and put in on with the new clips see the video posted by Semperfi.
Storage: I have not taken the time and effort to actually measure the under-seat storage space but it seems to me that we have less storage space even though both of my boats had the same floor plan and the Q is a longer boat. I think this is due to three things: 1) The bow seat design on the Q. 2) The back of the port side bench seat contains a wastebasket. I will say that this is a nice addition. 3) The storage space under the curved panels in the bow seems to come at the expense of floor and seating space inside the boat.
Accent Lighting: We had cupholder and Bimini top blue accent lights on the G. We rarely had the Bimini top open so we used those infrequently and the lights in the cupholders were definitely something I could do without. On the Q, at the insistence of my wife, we went with the RGB lighting in the speakers, cupholders, tower, and underwater. These lights can be set on one of numerous colors or set to change constantly. I have to say that when out at dusk, the look is amazing, the grandkids love them and again anyone who sees the boat with the lights on gives us compliments.
Floor: In the G we had carpet with the exception of the seagrass vinyl aft. I was always surprised by how hot underfoot the carpet would get. I also found the carpet to be hard on my knees when I was crawling on the floor to put up or take down the cover. We went with full seagrass vinyl on Q and love the look and feel. Although I will say it too can get quite hot underfoot.
Center Tube Storage: We had the center tube storage on the G. It was a great place to store the cover, cover support poles, and fenders so of course we got with the Q as well.
Helm: We had the raised helm on the G. Although it is only a few inches in height, it did help seeing over passengers in the starboard front seats. We went with the raised helm on the Q also.
Pop-up Changing Room: On the G we had the pop-up changing room. Never used it so when ordering the Q, we deleted it thinking it would give us more storage. It does give us storage but not nearly as much as I thought it would.
Tube Package: The G came with the Express Tube Package. If you are not familiar with this package it has three tubes but the center tube is not full length. The package has a reduced cost but provides the handling of a three-tube boat. On the Q we got the Elliptical Sport Package, three full length tubes. Both boats have lifting strakes. The G had Seastar Hydraulic Steering with a modified wave shield and the Q has full Power-Assist Hydraulic Steering and wave shield. I never had any issue with the handling of the G and was very pleased with it. But I have to say, the Q handling is far superior to the G with easier and tighter turning, and it handled the rough water on Memorial Day much better.
I bought my second boat, a 2019 Bennington 25 QCWA in December of last year. Once again, I did a lot of research and this time around had the benefit of and used this forum extensively. We entered the buying process with the thought of “Buying our last boat first”. However, my dealer assures me I will be back in another five to seven years to buy an even better boat but we will have to wait and see about that.
Although I took possession of my boat in early December, the weather in middle Tennessee has been so bad that it is only in the last couple of weeks that we have been able to get out on the boat for an extended period of time and put her through the paces. Having done so I thought I would put my reflections in writing, hoping others might find them useful when they begin the process of buying a new boat. I will do this by comparing the new boat, a Q, to my old boat, a G. I hope you find the information below helpful but remember it is my opinion, and when combined with a couple of dollars you can buy yourself a cup of coffee. My apologies up front for the length of this post.
Overall looks: The Q is definitely sleeker and more luxurious than the G, with the curved bow panels and tower. Every single person I have encountered at the marina and on the lake has complemented me on the boat, especially the front panels. However, the curved front panels make getting into the slip a little more challenging as we don’t have a lot of room to maneuver and you cannot lean against the curved panels and maintain your balance. We went with the tower on the Q, an option I don’t think was available on the G in 2013. Again, lots of compliments received. The tower allows us to use a wake board rack to hold our wakeboard and skis when underway. The speakers on the wake tower also make it great to hear the music when we are in the water.
Seating: Even though we had upgraded the seats in the G to the pillowtop seats, the seats in the Q are firmer, more supportive and nicer looking. This is great when you are spending several hours on the boat in a single outing. My wife and I are often out on the boat for five to seven hours at a time. One thing I do not like about the bow seats in the Q, is the curve of the seat line resulting in a loss of depth of the seat, front to back, at the most forward point. It reduces storage space and comfort as compared to the G. We went with the “Extra-wide” captains and co-captains chairs on the Q at the recommendation of our dealer. I don’t notice that much difference from the standard chairs and if I were to do it all over again, I would not add the extra-wide chairs.
Simtex Vinyl: The Q has the new upgraded Simtex vinyl. It has more of a fabric feel and seems to breath as compared to the traditional vinyl of the G. (I know you can get the Simtex vinyl on the G now.) One negative in my opinion is the Simtex seems to get hotter in the sun than the traditional vinyl, but not so hot that you cannot sit on it. According to Bennington and the manufacturer of the Simtex vinyl, there is no need to use Aerospace 303 and cleaning is simple using a wet microfiber cloth. At this point we have had no need to clean the Simtex. We cleaned the traditional vinyl on the G with a small amount of Dawn dishwasher detergent in a bucket of water, rinsed, and then treated with 303 three times a year. After six years our seats still looked brand new.
Cleats: The Q has the pop-up cleats the G did not. The pop-up cleats improve the overall appearance and from a safety perspective help prevent tripping injuries and stubbed toes.
Engine hp: You will read many times on this forum buy as much horsepower as you can afford. We had a Yamaha 150 hp engine on the G. It provided the power we needed for watersports but from day one I wished I had gone with a bigger engine. We put a Suzuki 250 hp on the Q. My original plan was to go with 300 hp but my dealer convinced me that I would not see much difference in speed between with the added 50 hp. So far, I am happy with the 250 hp but we have not really put it to the test with watersports yet. The Q is two foot longer and heavier than the G but the added horsepower gets us about 12 more miles per hour at wide open throttle.
Engine Brand: On this forum you will find many individuals that are wedded to certain brand engines. When I asked my dealer and mechanic about engine brands, each said all the major manufacturers, Mercury, Yamaha, Evinrude, and Suzuki, were well made engines and I would be happy with any one of them. On the G we had a Yamaha and never had any issues with it. On the Q we went with a Suzuki partially because Suzuki was running a special with a six-year warranty, longer than any other manufacturer at the time we placed our order, and partially because numerous mechanics highly recommended the Suzuki saying they thought it was the best made engine currently.
Rigging/Gauges: In the G we had analog rigging and gauges with a Garmin depth finder. The Q has digital rigging and gauges that provide more information than I will probably ever use and the display is customizable allowing you to display the information you are most interested in. The Q also has the Simrad GPS with multiple customizable displays as well. This is a significant enhancement over the G and I don’t think I would own a boat without the digital rigging now that I have experienced it.
Cover: The cover on the Q seems to be a little lighter but just as durable as the one on the G. I like the use of the clips on the new covers as opposed to the snaps, although there are still snaps bow and stern. The fewer snaps on the rails helps with the overall appearance of the boat. I like that the cover at the bow on the Q, is attached at the rails as opposed to rub rail on the G. This makes putting the cover on while it is trailered much easier. For a great tutorial on how to take the cover off and put in on with the new clips see the video posted by Semperfi.
Storage: I have not taken the time and effort to actually measure the under-seat storage space but it seems to me that we have less storage space even though both of my boats had the same floor plan and the Q is a longer boat. I think this is due to three things: 1) The bow seat design on the Q. 2) The back of the port side bench seat contains a wastebasket. I will say that this is a nice addition. 3) The storage space under the curved panels in the bow seems to come at the expense of floor and seating space inside the boat.
Accent Lighting: We had cupholder and Bimini top blue accent lights on the G. We rarely had the Bimini top open so we used those infrequently and the lights in the cupholders were definitely something I could do without. On the Q, at the insistence of my wife, we went with the RGB lighting in the speakers, cupholders, tower, and underwater. These lights can be set on one of numerous colors or set to change constantly. I have to say that when out at dusk, the look is amazing, the grandkids love them and again anyone who sees the boat with the lights on gives us compliments.
Floor: In the G we had carpet with the exception of the seagrass vinyl aft. I was always surprised by how hot underfoot the carpet would get. I also found the carpet to be hard on my knees when I was crawling on the floor to put up or take down the cover. We went with full seagrass vinyl on Q and love the look and feel. Although I will say it too can get quite hot underfoot.
Center Tube Storage: We had the center tube storage on the G. It was a great place to store the cover, cover support poles, and fenders so of course we got with the Q as well.
Helm: We had the raised helm on the G. Although it is only a few inches in height, it did help seeing over passengers in the starboard front seats. We went with the raised helm on the Q also.
Pop-up Changing Room: On the G we had the pop-up changing room. Never used it so when ordering the Q, we deleted it thinking it would give us more storage. It does give us storage but not nearly as much as I thought it would.
Tube Package: The G came with the Express Tube Package. If you are not familiar with this package it has three tubes but the center tube is not full length. The package has a reduced cost but provides the handling of a three-tube boat. On the Q we got the Elliptical Sport Package, three full length tubes. Both boats have lifting strakes. The G had Seastar Hydraulic Steering with a modified wave shield and the Q has full Power-Assist Hydraulic Steering and wave shield. I never had any issue with the handling of the G and was very pleased with it. But I have to say, the Q handling is far superior to the G with easier and tighter turning, and it handled the rough water on Memorial Day much better.
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