Back to the main site

Help me make my boat better!! :)

Your boat is not rated for a 150 hp engine. If you add on parts to make it like the ESP, Bennington is not going to give you a new capacity plate to say it can handle a 150. If you put an engine on it that is over the rated cap. you might void your warranty and be liable if you an an accident for damages that your insurance might not cover and you might get some problems from the boat cops. Take good care of it so you can sell it for top dollar and save until you can buy a boat with a larger engine.
 
I know that my boat is not currently rated for a 150, but by purchasing the express tube pkg, it increases the ability to a 150. It is a Bennington part, installed by a Bennington dealer so I can't see how in any way I would have a problem with warranty.

As for a previous comment (sorry forgot to take note of the poster) I have a 90hp right now, I think it would be foolish to upgrade my motor if I could only go to a 115. If I was buying new then hindsight tells me that definitely the 115 would have been better to go with, unfortunately, at the time, the wife and wallet disagreed! Haha I guess those to words (wife and wallet are really one and the same! :0 Not that I'm in any better financial position now, haha listening to all you guys talking about your boats is giving me a little 'pontoon envy' (wonder if they have support groups for that? Probably take you out on some old 1970's toon, 25 horse 2 stroke, blue smoking pouring out, burning your eyes, no seats, just some green outdoor carpet and a couple of milk crates duct taped on for safety, you know, to make you feel GREAT about the luxury boat you have at home!!

I do truly love my Bennington, I think they are a phenomenal boat, fit, finish, service. It all comes down to one thing, they care! I have dealt with many different suppliers, companies, reps, and the ones that you keep dealing with are the ones that truly want to hear your complaints/concerns because they really do want to make a superior product, and have a name that is known for quality. That's why while going through all these posts on here you see the same thing all the time, repeat customers, happy customers, and a great support for new customers! I have not once seen any comments belittling any one for asking a question, even when the same question has been asked numerous times. I have been on many a site where the first response is "that topic has already been discussed, do a forum search" they never keep in mind this person is new, maybe doesn't know all the in and outs of 'proper forum etiquette'. Or maybe that you shouldn't ramble on about something completely unrelated to the topic heading as I am doing right now! Sheesh. Moral of this rant, I love my boat, will be happy either way if I keep it or trade or sell. I still know that right now, I'm one of the best damn looking boats on my lake!! Haha
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bulldogs, I completely understand. I've never bought anything new and not want to upgrade it to make it just a little better. I think we as men are hardwired to do that.

Buy a new truck- tint the windows, start dreaming about bigger, better wheels, tires suspension.

Buy a new Seadoo- upgrade impeller and supercharger to reach 81mph.

And even for those that seem to have a Benny with everything:

Buy a new boat with ESP and a 350hp, upgrade prop for that extra 5 mph, start thinking about enclosures, why you didn't spring for the underwater lights, need to get stereo upgrade from stock one, etc.....

It always comes down to a limited amount of funds. I buy the best that I can afford at the time, based on my experiences, I decide what I need to make me just a bit happier.
 
Your first post said that you wanted to put a 150 on it and as others have said that's what it takes to get skiing type performance out of a pontoon. I assume that you have 25" tubes, so your boat is already rated for a 115. Going from a 90 to a 115 is only going to give you about 4mph. A 20' G with the express performance package is rated for 115hp. I understand the desire to upgrade your boat and I have done several to mine, but this idea does not make sense.
 
Clark said:
Your first post said that you wanted to put a 150 on it and as others have said that's what it takes to get skiing type performance out of a pontoon. I assume that you have 25" tubes, so your boat is already rated for a 115. Going from a 90 to a 115 is only going to give you about 4mph. A 20' G with the express performance package is rated for 115hp. I understand the desire to upgrade your boat and I have done several to mine, but this idea does not make sense.
Click to expand...
Sorry Clark, I edited my previous post, yes it is rated right now for a 115 (it does have the 25") and adding the express pkg would up it to 150.
 
I am using the 2010 Bennington brochure spec page 23 for a resource and according to it a 20' G series is rated for 115 hp with the express performance package. What resource are you using? By this brochure you would need to go to the STD or ESP performace package to be rated for 150. The STD package has 3 25" tubes, waveshield and hydraulic steering. Is this what you are thinking of modifiying your boat to? Would your Bennington dealer get you a new capacity plate to reflect that it can handle a 150? Are you going to have the dealer do all the modifications? How much would it cost for parts and dealer labor plus the cost of trading your used 90 for a 150? What is the used value of your boat with the performance package compared to what you will have into it after the modifications? I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I would want to have the answers to all these questions before I tried to sell the idea to my wife.
 
Bennington will surely NOT give you an upgraded capacity plate. The capacity plate is required by law, and states the rating "at the time of manufacture". Adding some option later will not fit the "at the time of manufacture" part, and that includes anything spec'ed or required by law. As for an oversized engine, most dealers will not fit an engine which is over the hp rating, however that said, I believe the only authority who could make a problem for you would be the Coast Guard. You could possibly have a problem if you had an accident related to the boat being overpowered, but that is a longshot. Guys with I/O's go over on hp all the time, but it is not a capacity plate issue for them, its not even on the capacity plate on an I/O.

In addition, I doubt Bennington would warranty cover any structure or frame issue that might result from an overpowered engine choice. Even though the tri toon mounting holes may be there, you do not know if there are additional chassis supports or even larger gauge aluminum used at the motor mounting area of the higher hp rated units. Just some thoughts for you .
 
Clark said:
I am using the 2010 Bennington brochure spec page 23 for a resource and according to it a 20' G series is rated for 115 hp with the express performance package.

*********I must apologize again, my boat is actually a 2009, I bought it at the end o the year and never picked it up until spring of 2010.

What resource are you using?

*********I am using the plate that is right beside my captains chair that says '115hp motor, and also the dealer where I purchased the boat from. Also from the website, that unfortunately , just changed to the 2012 specs, although previously had said 150 with express pkg. I know because I dreamed about it many times and 'rebuilt' my boat many times to try and figure out how to sell it to the wife.

By this brochure you would need to go to the STD or ESP performace package to be rated for 150. The STD package has 3 25" tubes, waveshield and hydraulic steering. Is this what you are thinking of modifiying your boat to? Would your Bennington dealer get you a new capacity plate to reflect that it can handle a 150? Are you going to have the dealer do all the modifications? How much would it cost for parts and dealer labor plus the cost of trading your used 90 for a 150?

**********Don't know yet. Have asked my dealer about the cost about a week and a half ago, when she told me that the express pkg would allow me to go to a 150, and she hasn't got back to me yet, I was going to call her today, but got busy after work. She did say that the mechanic figured it's probably about 5 hours to do the hydraulic steering, which was also the rough quote I received from my local Yamaha dealer whom also sells Sea-star hydraulic/power asisst steering. He hasn't got back to me yet on the trade in of my motor, so I will be touching base with him soon too. the other thing I know is that everytime I build a boat online, that $ creeps up to 45 grand pretty fast, granted I'm building a better boat than even what I have or am considering to do for upgrading, but sheesh, how can you not with that fun tool!! I just keep saying, well I might as well have that, that would be nice to have, of course upgrade the seating! Haha

What is the used value of your boat with the performance package compared to what you will have into it after the modifications?

***********Don't have the slightest idea, that's the age old question, what's it worth, to which the age old response has always been, whatever someone else is willing to pay for it! Haha

What I do know, or at least believe, is that here in Manitoba, when I look at the boat trader magazines, kijiji and such, there are very few tritoons on the market, which should not only increase it's value, but also catch the eye of more purchaser's.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I would want to have the answers to all these questions before I tried to sell the idea to my wife.

****** The wife is intrigued by the idea as well, just looking for all the helpful insights from people on the forum as to their ideas. No raining on this parade!! As I said, either way, I still love my boat! :)
Click to expand...
 
Hey Bulldog keep dreaming. How boring would life be without dreams and sometimes they come true. B)

Now if I could just figure out how to hang a couple 350 Yamahas on the back of my boat :o
 
2009, that makes it work, with 3 25" tubes the 2075 is rated for 150 hp.
 
So Clark, now what do you think? Worth exploring the option? I'm still torn. I wonder about adding the express anyway, just for even resale value, but someone states that with a 90, it might actually SLOW the boat! :( Not the desired outcome!! Haha
 
I can’t imagine the 3rd toon making your boat go slower.

Look at it this way. There are two types of boats. Displacement (cruise ship, sailboat, pontoon) and planning (ski boat, pontoon). Yes, I know I listed pontoon on both. When a pontoon boat goes slow, its “displacing” water. Say your boat weighs 3000 pounds. If you have 2 pontoons, they will each sink down into the water far enough to displace 1500 lbs of water each. As you move through the water at a slow speed, you have to displace 3000 lbs of water. If you have 3 pontoons, they will each sink down in the water less, because now each pontoon only has to displace 1000 lbs each. BUT, you still have to displace 3000 lbs of water as you move ahead at a slow speed. It’s the same amount of water displacement either way (2 or 3 pontoons). Adding the 3rd pontoon doesn’t hurt you, but it doesn’t help you either.

Here’s where the question on your 90 HP comes in. As you go faster, and the boat begins to come on plane, you displace less and less water the faster you go. Your boat still weighs 3000 lbs, but as you speed up and plane, you no longer have to displace 3000 lbs of water. The amount of displacement continues to drop as you continue to speed up. The factor that’s missing here is surface area. That’s the key. The more surface area touching the water, the better/higher your boat will plane, and at any given speed ABOVE planing speed, the more surface area you have, the less water you will have to displace. Adding a third pontoon is how you add surface area to a pontoon boat that only has 2 pontoons. Or add strakes. Or both!

If your 90 is large enough to bring your boat up on plane, and I assume it is, a third pontoon WILL make it go faster. I don’t know at what HP level a boat like your's won’t get up on plane, but my guess is maybe somewhere around 40-50 HP? Someone else can maybe speak to that. But at low HP levels, the boat will just plow through the water (displacement). If you add a third pontoon in a case like that, it won’t make it go any slower (you’re still displacing the same amount of weight in water), but the third pontoon WON’T make your boat go any faster either. Until you get up to planing speeds.

So, that’s a lot just to say I can’t imagine a third pontoon making ANY boat go SLOWER. It won't make all boats faster, but it WILL make it go faster above planing speeds. That's why Bennington's Elipticals work so well. They put more surface area under the boat for a given amount of aluminum (vs round).

I assume your boat planes with the 90 HP. So, the question is how MUCH faster will it make your boat go.

On that, I have no idea!

What I would do is go to Yamaha's or Mercury's website and find their motor test sheets. Find where they put a 90 HP on several pontoon boats, and if you're lucky, you might find a 2-pontoon vs a 3-pontoon. That should give you a ballpark on the speed increase. Then adjust that up or down a little based on how that boat compares with your boat weight-wise. I poured through these test sheets myself to make my decision on express, strakes and motor size for the boat we're getting.

Good luck!
 
Boomers dad said:
Now if I could just figure out how to hang a couple 350 Yamahas on the back of my boat :o
Click to expand...
I know this guy, who knows a guy, who one time saw someone do that! True story! Haha:)
 
I have a friend at my dock , he has a 2009 2275 gli with a 90 yamaha 4 stroke and it tops out at about 25mph and it is not planning, the tubes are still about 1/2 in the water. By the 2009 brochure his boat is 2244lbs. w/o engine. Your 2075 is 2194lbs. now and with the 3 tubes it will be 2553lbs. So even with the additional bouancy of the 3rd tube it might not plane out. It is a math problem I can't answer. I would ask your dealer, they may have some experience with that combo. The other consideration is financial, is it a better value to modify your boat or sell it and buy what you want. You have to do your homework on this, but there are websites like boats.com that can give you used values. I would guess that doing all the mods and getting a 150 will cost serveral thousand, do you need to finance that amount and will your lender let you modify your loan to do that? And just to give you another idea, I have a 2009 2250 sl w/ 50hp that I use for economical social cruising, sandbar duty and a 1986 Mastercraft inboard ski boat for towing duties which has almost too much power but is a gas hog. Both boats are holding their resale value very well.
 
Another thing to think about with adding an express toon is this: The express toon is a complete third toon added INFRONT of the existing engine and engine support/water diverter assembly. Watch out the back of the pontoon sometime when you are running 20 mph or more. See how the water raises straight up from the middle of the back end of each toon? With the express package toon that is how the water is going to raise up, then collide with the front of the engine support/water diverter. Not an efficient deal at all, but a good size drag. My belief is the express toon package will add bouancy, and added capacity, and will sit higher in the water, but will actually slow the boat down a bit because of the added drag of how the package fits together, its an add-on. Now a whole one piece third toon with the engine mounted on the back of the toon, yes, faster.
 
Hmmm, damn you guys are killing me!! Haha first I was a little excited about the thought of being able to add a bigger motor, then started considering the new boat idea, then priced out said new boat and started reconsidering the express idea! Haha

I am concerned about the planing thing because as I sit right now, according to my phone gps, the max speed I got was about 22 mph(36km/h haha) so am definitely concerned about adding the weight. Just because that speed was just me and the wife and the two dogs, mind you my dogs weigh more that most people's kids, but when we did go out with 7 adults plus a baby, it was MUCH slower! I'm kind of thinking that I may just be happy with what I have, and wait till I own it and not the bank, then trade her in for ESP !

Had to laugh at myself yesterday, I guy I know was talking about trading in his maxim boat for a pontoon. So he's telling me it's a 26ft with an I/O 225 tritoon, full Bimini front back, full enclosure, 26 gallon in tube fuel tank, and I said what brand? He said he thought it was crestline or sun catcher, and I told him, nah save up, buy a Bennington. Even though I'm sitting here trying to make my boat faster, add a tube, maybe bigger, I'm positive I would rather have my Bennington, than one of 'those' boats! Haha I'm a Bennington snob!!
 
I know how you feel, I started out just wanting a simple "adequately" powered twin tube pontoon, for a more useful boat than the boat I was selling. Had already made the deal for a 2274GLi twin with a 150 Verado. Then the dealer said the engine was on back order for 6 weeks, so I was going to wait. Then he mentioned he just happened to have a 2574GLi already in stock with a 150, and ESP, for just a little bit more than I had already made a deal on. Heck, I couldn't pass that up, so I said GO AHEAD! I started studying real hard about ESP and such, and decided "maybe" since I do like to slalom ski, perhaps I need just a bit more motor, after all, I have already committed to a substantial amount of money. I decided to price a 225, and dealer said for $900 more :) , I could have the 250. Oh well, put, me in for the whole darn thing, I don't want to pay what it would cost to trade up in a year or so anyway. Low and behold, Merc shipped the PRO model 250 for no extra charge, so I am pleased as can be. Not a bit sorry I spent some extra, cause the ESP flat flies and corners like a Vette. If I was you, I would hold out until I saved enough to get what you really want, it would be worth the wait, and I think you would be disappointed with modifying what you have.
 
It can stress you out, enjoy the weekend.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Uh oh. I was incorrect in my post above. The third pontoon does add weight, as Clark mentioned.

So, just to correct that for future readers, the 3rd pontoon will add some to the total weight, and if the boat still can't plane, it will probably make the boat slower since it has to displace a few hundred more pounds.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top