First Bennington and first pontoon. Pontoons have really evolved a lot over the last 15-20 years. I think that almost every pontoon that I've ever noticed were nothing more than a barge with a small motor. Until recently. Then I noticed one a year or so ago that would have outrun my bass boat, and that made an impression on me. This past summer I was on my favorite lake, which is an hours drive away from my home, and I was tired but wanting to stay a while longer. I got up at 4:30 so that I could be there at the crack of dawn, and staying late just wasn't an option. My wife said "it would be nice if we didn't have to get up so early, and we could stay on or near the lake". I saw two options--- I could drag our fifth wheel to a campground a few miles from the lake, or we could look for a flat area and tent camp on the lake. Both had some serious drawbacks.
The very next trip, as I rounded a point to my favorite stretch of shoreline, there was a pontoon boat anchored in the cove--with a full canvas enclosure. There was a bass boat tied alongside, and shortly he was off to his fishing spot nearby. A few hours later, as I was smelling the odor of bacon cooking coming from the pontoon, the fisherman returned. To shorten the story somewhat, a little later we approached and struck up a conversation with the couple, and he showed us his set up. He had a Harris, 2 years old, and set up a sleeping area in the front, and a shower on the starboard transom, and a cooking area on the port transom. They also lived an hour or so away, and spend 2-4 days there on the lake every other week.
I was hooked at this point. I started my research, lurked on 5 or 6 forums for a couple months, then decided on a Bennington in November. I plan on doing about the same thing as the Harris couple, customizing my Bennington to make a comfortable live-aboard base for several days at a time. Our lake, Fontana, is 21 miles long and is surrounded by a National Forest on one side and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on the other. Over 95+% Federal land, less than 5% private, and during the week you may not see a dozen boats all day. Fly fishing for trout on the numerous streams entering the lake, or fly fishing or casting for bluegill, and large- and smallmouth bass on the lake. Great fishing, little traffic, and beautiful mountain scenery...you just can't get any better than that. We see bald eagles, bobcats, coyotes, turkeys, deer and black bear on a regular basis.
