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First post & first test drive

Tailgate

Tailgate

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Central Texas
Greetings from central Texas!  I've been researching this forum for several weeks after I found that our Bennington dealer had some 20ft toons that are within my price range.  Here's some info, hopefully not TMI.

1. just retired first of year

2. this would be first boat

3. DW not interested in fishin' (thus the toon with a fishing pkg)

4. looking at 20 SL with 70hp 4-stroke Yamaha

5. prior to any negotiation, base price is right at 24k for a 2013, 25k for a 2014 prior  to TTL

6. dealer has installed some options- Garmin Echo 100, teak table upgrade, etc

from website- 2014 BENNINGTON 20S STERN FISH, 2014 YAMAHA 70HP FOUR STROKE, 2014 BEAR CUSTOM TRAILER, *NEW EXTENDED FRONT DECK, BOW LOUNGES,*UPGRADED TABLE, *UPGRADED G SERIES HELM SEAT, *UPGRADED DELUX G SERIES SKIRTING, *UPGRADED SEA TEAK REAR DECK, PALM LEAF CARPET, *GARMIN LCR IN DASH, *REAR AREATED LIVE WELL WITH ROD HOLDERS, *DOCKING LIGHTS, 10' BIMINI TOP,AMFM/CD W/FOUR SPEAKERS, DEEP STEP BOARDING LADDER, FULL INSTRUMENTATION, STAINLESS STEEL CORNER CASTINGS, *OPTIONAL EQUIP.

Questions that come to mind are:

Rear or front fishing package?  he has both in the 20 SL

Is price in the ballpark?

Dealer recommends stainless steel prop?

Have looked at Qwest (Apex Marine) LS in an 18ft, which is their luxury line for about 22k with a 40hp Yamaha 4-stroke...nice boat also

Test drove a 20 footer on the Brazos River this morning and was impressed..plenty of power for us..handled very easily.

Any thoughts or comments appreciated from you knowledgable folks..thanks in advance..

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Hello Tailgate,

We have a 2010 22SFI.  We have the 2 fishing chairs up front and 1 chair in the rear.  We have the 90 Yamaha 4 stroke, with the SS prop.  I would recommend the SS prop.  We bought ours used from a guy on Lake Fork, the motor had almost 10 hours on it when we purchased.  We aren't speed demons, and the 90 is plenty of power to pull tubers.

My recommendation would be get the front fishing package.  You can always add a base and seat in the rear if space allows.
 
From experience Quest is a good starter/occasional/budget toon, Bennington is final (well till PADS hits).

It's like comparing a Chevy to a BMW ... They both serve the same purpose, just depends what level of luxury you prefer.

I will say, barring "options" the Luxury Quest probably rates with Benningtons Standard S

in build quality and components.

As for fishing front or rear, not a issue for me as I fish off both on my R.

I will say, if you like to Fish a lot and make a mess with them GO ALL VINYL FLOOR if possible.

I now wish I had it but I got a leftover RLi with carpet.
 
TailGate,

               I can't help you with the layout or fising package since I do not fish 

I own a 2014 Bennington SL21 with many of the upgrades you have 

I too got the Garmin 100, the upgraded G Series Helm Chair and Upgraded Stereo System with I Pod and Etc 

I will offer you some advice on engine. I obsessed for some time over the Yamaha High Thrust 60HP 4stroke engine 

The potential and small increase of cost for the Yamaha F90 4 stroke kept haunting me 

I purchsed the F90 and never regretted it 

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Think about the Yamaha F90 , try it if given the opportunity 

We truly love it 

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depending on your lake and needs I might suggest upgrading the Echo 100 to a newer version.  If you just need a fish finder the newer versions seem much more desirable.  If you would like to upgrade further to a chart plotter the info and details are quite a bit better
 
Just checked and this 20S engine max is a 70..would love to have a 90 though.  Agree about the fish finder, will upgrade immediately..thanks for all the info
 
You should be able to have the plate upgraded to a 90 unless you have 23 inch tubes.

I had a 90 on my 20 ft last year.
 
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yep..tubes are 23"... not 25"

clrd---- looked at your pics, nice boat...what kind of fish finder/depth finder/chart plotter would you recommend?
 
Your boat's performance will be much better if you stick to 25" toons.   I see boats with smaller toons plowing through the water all the time--at very slow speeds.  Small toon boats are just not seaworthy when you load'em up with people.

A stainless steel prop is not really needed on a pontoon boat under 115 hp.  We just don't take our pontoon into very shallow water, and aluminums do just fine with smaller engines.  The price difference can be as much as $350-400.  The dealer's wanting more profits from you.
 
We have that exact boat - with the rear fish option!  Ours is the 20 ft SSX with the 25" toons and 70HP Yahama.  We love her!  She's very efficient on fuel and moves at a decent pace (we didn't buy a pontoon for speed).  We specifically bought this boat because of the rear-fish option.  My husband and I both like to fish and this layout gives us the best of both worlds, and a good amount of storage! 

Good luck on your purchase...we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
 
nice to hear!  I think this is a good fit for us too... we just want to cruise, drink a little wine, watch some sunsets and I want to make some fish nervous!  My dealer has been fantastic.  Hope to get her in the water maybe on Friday.  
 
Congratulations 

There is nothing better than being on ......

The Water 

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Who doesn't love 

The Beav ?
 
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Tailgate said:
yep..tubes are 23"... not 25"

clrd---- looked at your pics, nice boat...what kind of fish finder/depth finder/chart plotter would you recommend?
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late reply. It is hard to recommend any specific brand or model,

I use a Humminbird 859 ci HD di. I wanted easy to use, easy to see, color, lake maps and down imaging.

I do a lot of fishing at different lakes, so I chose one that I thought would best suit my needs. 

So as far as what I recommend, I would say go to a store like Bass Pro and or Cabelas where they carry a lot to chose from,

and look and touch to see what the there is to offer to help you chose what you are looking for.

I am sorry I wasn't a lot of help but it should be one that best suits your needs  :D
 
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