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First Bennington - 2014 22 SLX 150HP Build Review

I have the 24sslx with the 150 and sps.The boat has plenty of get up and go.This was my first pontoon and the first time I ever pulled skiers and thought it did so just fine.It would run 40-42 when new but after it sat in the water a while the top speed dropped alot.I pulled it out and pressure washed the toons after about 3 months and the best I have seen is 37 mph.I was playing around one day doing tight turns and my friend on another boat said my pontoon was really banking in the turns,I didnt even ask him he just told me that.
 
Great info.  So the SPS does bank pretty hard with the 150.  And if it runs 42 MPH flat out, that's what mine does with Express and full strakes.  I'm sure a number of people will be glad to read that info!

So what was the incremental cost of the SPS over the Express and full strakes?
 
I went to build a boat.   On my 24SSL, Express is $1900 and strakes are another $700.  $2600 total.

SPS is $3400 (for 150 HP).  So, an extra $800.  Plus another $500 because you need the long shaft motor, so $1300 more for SPS. 

So, no loss in speed, but turning tighter turns costs $1300 more.

The SPS gives you the option of in-floor storage for another $1000.  Can't do that with Express.

Since the SSL has the rear lounger, when they went from 22 to 24 foot, they added the 2 feet up front.  Other models are different.  One thing I liked a lot on the 24 is they made the port gate opening about half the size, which adds another foot or so (on top of the 2 feet due to a bigger boat) more to the port front couch..  There's a lot of wasted space by the port gate on the 22.  The port gate on our 24SSL is narrow, but we rarely use the port gate.  It's plenty functional though.  I'd rather have extra seating space vs bigger gate.
 
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I'd run with the sps. In regards to the GPS speedo, it also has a compass built in which is pretty nice.

We water tested a 24' ssrx with sps and 200 and it felt like a rocket. Didn't get too crazy in the turns but the speed and ride on rough water sold us.

I am dying to get ours in the water to get the feel for it and share the results.
 
Hutch949 said:
I have the 24sslx with the 150 and sps.The boat has plenty of get up and go.This was my first pontoon and the first time I ever pulled skiers and thought it did so just fine.It would run 40-42 when new but after it sat in the water a while the top speed dropped alot.I pulled it out and pressure washed the toons after about 3 months and the best I have seen is 37 mph.I was playing around one day doing tight turns and my friend on another boat said my pontoon was really banking in the turns,I didnt even ask him he just told me that.
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Thanks Hutch,

Great info.  I think I'll stick with my original build and go with the 22' SLX w/ SPS + 150hp

kaydano said:
The SPS gives you the option of in-floor storage for another $1000.  Can't do that with Express.
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Hey kaydano,

That might have changed...I was doing a build earlier and the In-Floor storage has either Express Performance Package or SPS as being required.  Maybe it's something that changed in 2014?  The In-Floor storage is definitely something we believe we need.  At least this was the case for the SLX3.
 
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Does anyone know how much the extended aft deck adds?  Is it only adding to each side of the motor?  Or does it add decking between the rear railing and the motor?

I'm specifically interested in how it works with the 2104 22' SLX which already has limited space between the rear rail and the motor, at least from the pics.
 
We just got ours last fall. We love it  I got the bimini lights which are great for cruising I have the SS docking lights and when you need them you will want them, we make a trip to the marina after dark and they are nice for docking. Get the sharkhide! I have no idea where we would put life jackets and skis if we didnt have the infloor storage. The HD rub rail is a must and I found that we use the cabin enclousure all the time. I have not yet use the privacy enclousure. You can check out the list below. I would have liked the extended deck for the kids for swimming but very happy with what we got, for the money. And I still have my Nirto Bass boat and the pontoon hole shoots better and turns better wont quite hit the 54 mph but 40 seems faster in the pontoon than my bass boat. I feel like Im in a canoe when I go from the pontoon to the bass boat and that is 18 to 22 feet  We had 13 people on board last year running 32 mph. Good luck I can only say buy the add on now because you wont want to do it later
 
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Thanks everyone for all the input. I think I'm well on my way to buying my last boat first.

I'll keep everyone posted on my final build and will try to contribute some of what I learned back to the forums.

Thanks!

Jason.
 
Snake, my toon stays in the water most of the time and I have the extended deck.I sure would hate the little deck when trying to put the mooring cover on every day without it.The extended deck was worth the money, but I did like the ladder they use on small deck better.
 
Extended deck is just two small tabs on either side of the motor. But worth every penny.
 
Other than the raised helm, the extended aft deck will be mandatory on my next toon. It just allows so much more area to walk around back there and a great place to mount a grill or carry extra stuff. My RLi has about a 4-5" ledge back there and it makes it a little harder get to some of the snaps.
 
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Port side is invaluable for docking. Starboard allows extra room for people getting out of the water to drip off or tubers to swap life vests. I don't have a grill but good chance that's where it would go if I did like Semper said.
 
SnakeByte said:
Thanks everyone for all the input. I think I'm well on my way to buying my last boat first.

I'll keep everyone posted on my final build and will try to contribute some of what I learned back to the forums.

Thanks!

Jason.
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You know, while it's always a good thing to come close the first time around, don't deny yourself the pleasure of learning all about the things you've selected for a period of time (could be years or in Derrick's case, moments (sorry)) and then making even better choices your next time around. And also remember, Bennington's menu is not necessarily a static thing. Things change from model year to model year. Who knows what might tickle your fancy.

I guess what I'm really saying is don't let your desire to make this the one and only time you buy a boat rob you of the enjoyment of buying a boat. It's really a whole lot of fun, each and every time you do it.
 
Chris Z said:
I guess what I'm really saying is don't let your desire to make this the one and only time you buy a boat rob you of the enjoyment of buying a boat. It's really a whole lot of fun, each and every time you do it.
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If that's the case, it must be like a 3 ring circus at Derricks ......... Sorry, couldn't resist ...... :)
 
Interesting point Chris.  Don't think I've ever heard someone say that. Maybe how you buy cars has something to do with how you buy boats.  Some people buy a new car every three years.  Some buy a car and keep it until it has 300,000 miles on it.  Boats are probably not much different.  Most people probably would have a similar approach to either. 

Ha ha, now that I wrote that, I see it is an "except for me" statement.  I've never bought a brand new car.  But I bought a new Benny though!!!  Built a new house...  But never had a brand spanking new car.  I know the depreciation would make me sick...  To each his own, I guess.  Plus I like to fix stuff.  So old cars suit me just fine.
 
Chris Z said:
You know, while it's always a good thing to come close the first time around, don't deny yourself the pleasure of learning all about the things you've selected for a period of time (could be years or in Derrick's case, moments (sorry)) and then making even better choices your next time around. And also remember, Bennington's menu is not necessarily a static thing. Things change from model year to model year. Who knows what might tickle your fancy.

I guess what I'm really saying is don't let your desire to make this the one and only time you buy a boat rob you of the enjoyment of buying a boat. It's really a whole lot of fun, each and every time you do it.
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I've enjoyed learning a ton about pontoons, I don't know that I qualify it as "fun", because I've definitely tried to make it all a big mathematical formula that results in the correct answer.  To your point, I don't think there is a correct answer and if you keep trying to find it, you'll never end up with a boat you like.  There will always be something I should have, could have, would have gotten.  That being said, I'm hopeful that my time and effort will result in avoiding many of the pitfalls that others have experienced before me and have been great at sharing.

As I start to finalize my purchase (hopefully tomorrow), the weight of "figuring" everything out is slowly lifting.  Then I can get excited as I wait for our new boat to arrive!

And, I'm not going to change anything before it ships! (*fingers crossed)
 
Haha, usually for me it is just a matter of saying how "well if we had the ESP we could dump your brother off the tube, well yes we would need a bigger motor, well sure I would probably go to the 22', that way we could have those nice loungers on the back, well our stereo could sound better if we bought some amps and stuff, well what if someone else got the tower on our lake first, well we were planning on upgrading the stereo anyways, might as well get what we want now." I just kept repeating a lot of those things until it became HER idea, then a new boat was ordered!! Hehe


As for not changing anything, I changed stuff when it was half way through the build!! Luckily it was small stuff and it was still able to be done!
 
Hi Snakebyte,

Good luck with your new boat I have a 14 that I am waiting to get through te ice. :)

I went with SPS also and I think the extra bouyancy and improved ride alone will be worth it as Mendota can get pretty rough. I will be keeping mine on Lake Wisconsin. Are you using Don's Marine or someone else as a dealer. I got a very fair deal at Don's and am looking forward to delivery.

Bob
 
kaydano said:
Interesting point Chris.  Don't think I've ever heard someone say that. Maybe how you buy cars has something to do with how you buy boats.  Some people buy a new car every three years.  Some buy a car and keep it until it has 300,000 miles on it.  Boats are probably not much different.  Most people probably would have a similar approach to either. 

Ha ha, now that I wrote that, I see it is an "except for me" statement.  I've never bought a brand new car.  But I bought a new Benny though!!!  Built a new house...  But never had a brand spanking new car.  I know the depreciation would make me sick...  To each his own, I guess.  Plus I like to fix stuff.  So old cars suit me just fine.
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Too bad they don't lease boats ,like they do cars .
 
I bought my boat as a leftover and had only been into boating for two years prior to that.  Because we bought in the early Spring, we never test rode any boats at all,  That is a mistake I will not make again, I think that test driving your exact model and engine is the only way to go 
 
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