Looking at buying a new Bennington but have questions...

[Nautical]

I don't even know 12 people! But seriously, I always tell people that the person/weight limit placard isn't something you should go by for realistic use and enjoyment. It's a safety placard put there because they have to. It's like the date on the milk, the MPG on your car's sticker and the tag on the mattress. Like someone already pointed out, they use featherweight anorexics on diets in figuring the weight of each "person" and they simply count the seats to figure the people. All they are concerned about is SAFETY: will it float, period. They don't care if you can't go over 5 mph and they don't care if you're passengers feel like they're packed in like sardines. They only care if it will float. You should probably take the body count on the placard and figure no more than 3/4 of that number, probably less to be truly comfortable. When it comes to the weight you probably could go over it a few hundred pounds but if you follow my advice on the body count, you won't.

I can promise you if you buy a boat with the intention of regularly (or even occasionally) putting the max number of people the placard says on it you're NOT buying a large enough boat.

 

[Bama Kat]

Hello - my husband and I are looking at new pontoons and are very interested in Bennington. We are long time boaters coming from a 20' runabout but lots of pontoons in our family. We are between the 23 and 25 SSRX Fastback...both with the SPS plus pkg with a 250hp Yamaha.

1. This build on the 23 says it holds 12 people. First, do 12 people really fit comfortably on the 23 ?? And second, I can't find the passenger weight anywhere so is that 12 small people or could we take 12 adults (6 men, 6 women and not all tiny). We really would like to be able to take 14 or 15 passengers but the 25 might be a little too big for our barn where we will store it. It's just a little frustrating that other brands boats of similar sizes can hold more than 12 even with the bigger engine.

2. With the stereo/speaker upgrade for the fastback, can you control the speakers that are on the back of the boat for people floating separately from the speakers inside the boat?

3. The new simtex for the seats....if we choose the platinum color, it's a little darker than the others...does it get hot or is it not noticeably different than the other colors?

Thanks for any input.

I had a G23 & could easily the 12-14 adults but I preferred 8-10 max just for comfort & weight.