Hello,...new member!

[DewMan1964]

Hello from DewMan1964;
New member here and prospective Bennington owner,...I hope! I'm looking at Bennington's entry level pontoons in the S-line with 8' beam! Looking at Bennington's newest brochure they have a 188 SL and 188 SLJ. For a guy who is NEW to owning and operating a pontoon,I feel that this would be just the RIGHT size to start out on,...it's not too big or too small. I'm nearing retirement age and I'd LOVE to be able to buy this pontoon as my retirement prize for my years of hard work,...have something to show for it! As for power,...looking at Yamaha,...with Honda or Suzuki as other outboard choices!

 

[Jack M]

Welcome! Forum members are very good at spending other people's money.
This sounds like me in 2012 .I went to see a friend who owned a Bennington dealership. I wanted a 16-18 ft with a 25 hp.
He told me it was too small and under powered for our area . I left after I had ordered a 22 ft with a 90 . I am now on Bennington number 4 .
Try to buy your last boat 1st .

 

[Vikingstaff]

Hello and Welcome aboard future captain!

I am retired myself, and highly recommend it to everyone!

These are going to be nearly identical except for interior seating configuration. I screen shot the layout below in case it is helpful.
* With the 188SL you will have a bit more interior open space, and all seating is focused inward towards the interior in the rear.
* With the 188SLJ you will have the same interior seating configuration, but with a bit less space in the rear between L-bench and helm. This is because on the back side of the interior L-bench seating is a rear facing long bench with below seat storage. So, when not under power, you can have a couple people sitting on the rear facing the aft of the boat.

Maybe just think about how you might plan to utilize the boat to make the decision. Would you want to sit on the back looking out, or sit there fishing? Maybe the SLJ is best then. Will you just be cruising around and want as much open floor space on the interior of this relatively short pontoon boat, and don’t ever see yourself or others sitting and looking out the back of the boat, then the SL might be better.

As for motor, I forget what is the max HP for this smaller pontoon boat. That said, HP is always cheapest to buy new with original boat. So I advise buying whatever is the highest HP you can get with it. As for manufacturer, get whatever you can get most easily serviced by a trusted dealership that is close by. All those options are reliable and good. So get the one that is most convenient to get serviced locally.

 

[Vikingstaff]

Follow up to what Jack said above: It is easy for all of us to spend other peoples money. That said, there is also A LOT of experience in this forum. Many have upgraded boats over the years, so they have really good insights. I did upgrade a few things when we ordered ours in 2017 based on some very good advice in this forum. That said, that advice did drive up the cost of our boat. However, here we are 9 years later, and its serving us very well with no need to upgrade.

IF you can buy your last boat first, one that checks as many of your boxes as possible and is in your price range, do it. If the 188 is just a great small cruise or fish option for you, and you don’t see yourself doing anything else, then cool beans too!!!

 

[lakeliving]

It comes down to what you plan to use it for. Just putting around a small lake, you don’t need much. Ability to tow a tube or skier and handle bigger waves/rough water, that’s a different ball game. As long as you are honest with what you need a boat to do Bennington has an option to fit. Unless you are tuna fishing in the Atlantic!

 

[DewMan1964]

Well,...after talking with my dealer yesterday afternoon(4/21/26),...I have decided to go with the 20 SL with 25" tubes and 8.5' beam rather than the narrow 8' beam of the 188 SLJ. The 20 SL with the 25" tubes will take a 90 HP outboard. I won't be fishing,...just cruising,...so the SL will be better to go with,and have a better ride in rough water with the wider beam! As for motor,...going with Yamaha! Purchase time frame is still up in the air at this point,but I STILL want to do this! It will be my FIRST pontoon,...and probably all I will ever need!

 

[Jack M]

You should be able to hit 30 with a 90 on a 20ft .
My 1st Bennington I had a 90 on a 22 ft and hit 28 , with a full tank and 2 adults.

 

[DewMan1964]

30 mph on a pontoon,...however I HIGHLY doubt I'll even want to go that fast,....maybe 20 to 25 MPH tops? Plenty fast for me! LOL! I just want to cruise,...not into water sports so no tubing! Five or six other people at the most on board besides myself being "captain of my ship".

 

[Jack M]

30 mph on a pontoon,...however I HIGHLY doubt I'll even want to go that fast,....maybe 20 to 25 MPH tops? Plenty fast for me! LOL! I just want to cruise,...not into water sports so no tubing! Five or six other people at the most on board besides myself being "captain of my ship".

Im not saying you have to go that fast ,but Yes it should easily be able to hit 30 . Mine 22ft was heavier than your 20ft will be and it was able to hit 28 .

 

[2026 S20]

Congratulations on your new purchase. My wife and I too are just about to get a 2026 20SSR (quad bench) with a 90 VMax Yamaha from our local dealer. We are very excited for our upcoming time on the lake. Some great advice here. When we originally started looking, a friend was "thinking" of selling his boat, a 22' Sylvan with a 60hp, 10 years old. We felt we needed that length. After going to the boat show, we ended up seeing Bennington and only shopping them, and buying new instead of used. We decided on the shorter boat with more power, added lifting strakes, double bimini, full surround, and some other niceties like upgraded seats, blackout trim, and some RGB lighting. While I have friends on the lake that own 23-24' boats with 250-300 hp, I did not take their advice to go that big because I don't need it, and am in a different tax bracket lol. Time will tell. However, I do feel that with what we got, it will be our last boat, as we are in our mid-late fifties and want to retire in the next few years. We got a nicer boat in the end than I ever thought we would have.

 

[Vikingstaff]

Congratulations to each of you with your new boats on order. Once they are delivered update us all with some pictures. Everyone loves seeing new boats. If you haven’t already, poke around in the various threads in our forums. So much great info from some very knowledgeable members over the years.

 

[DewMan1964]

Congratulations on your new purchase. My wife and I too are just about to get a 2026 20SSR (quad bench) with a 90 VMax Yamaha from our local dealer. We are very excited for our upcoming time on the lake. Some great advice here. When we originally started looking, a friend was "thinking" of selling his boat, a 22' Sylvan with a 60hp, 10 years old. We felt we needed that length. After going to the boat show, we ended up seeing Bennington and only shopping them, and buying new instead of used. We decided on the shorter boat with more power, added lifting strakes, double bimini, full surround, and some other niceties like upgraded seats, blackout trim, and some RGB lighting. While I have friends on the lake that own 23-24' boats with 250-300 hp, I did not take their advice to go that big because I don't need it, and am in a different tax bracket lol. Time will tell. However, I do feel that with what we got, it will be our last boat, as we are in our mid-late fifties and want to retire in the next few years. We got a nicer boat in the end than I ever thought we would have.

I haven't bought mine yet,...but hoping to do so soon! Going to go with a the 20S L-bench with 90 HP Yamaha,and 25" tubes. Just the standard features,...nothing fancy on a FIRST and probably LAST pontoon! 20 foot will be MORE than enough for me! This is coming late in life as I'm 62 years old,and GETTING CLOSE to retirement!

 

[2026 S20]

Congratulations to each of you with your new boats on order. Once they are delivered update us all with some pictures. Everyone loves seeing new boats. If you haven’t already, poke around in the various threads in our forums. So much great info from some very knowledgeable members over the years.

Two things I love, being on the water, and taking pictures, so there will definitely be boating pictures taken. Can't wait. My brother and I put the dock in yesterday as the boat is supposed to arrive at the dealer very soon.

 

[2026 S20]

Our boat was delivered to our lake last Saturday around noon and we couldn’t be happier with it. Between then and mid afternoon Monday we had 9.5 of the 10 hours completed for break in. We’ll be done this coming weekend.
We were out for 3 day cruises and two evening cruises. We love being out on the lake and watching the sun go down. Our daughters joined us, and we even got my Mom and Dad out.

I can already tell we are going to love the Pontoon life and should have done this earlier

 

[Jack M]

Congratulations !

 

[Vikingstaff]

Looks like an incredible time on the water breaking it in with family. Beautiful boat and family. Enjoy your summer ahead making memories on the water.

 

[Angela & Michael]

Enjoy!

 

[Dem58thward]

Congratulations to each of you with your new boats on order. Once they are delivered update us all with some pictures. Everyone loves seeing new boats. If you haven’t already, poke around in the various threads in our forums. So much great info from some very knowledgeable members over the years.

A question on delivery of new boat(,M series), ordered in early March 2026 at Atlantic City Boat show. Sales guy from the marina stated late April to early May delivery. To date no boat and dealer is unable to say when boat will be delivered A little frustrated as I traded my 2019 Bennington in with dealer and they have my old boat. Boating season/back bay fishing in S. Jersey is only 16 weeks. Empty slip with no boat.

 

[Jack M]

Ask your dealer if he has a Full Load ordered.

 

[Jack M]

Also here is Benningtons phone number, if you would like to call.
888 906 2628