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New Benni owner - routine maintenance suggestions

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Roo Raft

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Hello Club Bennington community!!  My wife and I (we live in New England) are recent owners of a 2016 bennington pontoon and we are so excited for all the adventures that will be coming our way along with our family and friends!!!  


i wanted to pose a question in regards to any routine maintenance guidance club Bennington members can share with us to help maintain the vinyl floor, upholstery, etc??  


we have purchased the 303 multi-surface cleaner that we have used on the seats, etc.  We have also purchased the 303 aerospace protectant as well but have yet to use this.  we have also used a deck scrub brush to scrub the vinyl deck, etc.    our Bennington Dealer is great work with and they will service the outboard motor as well as the winterization of the motor and boat and storage during the north east winter months.  any suggestions you see helpful is greatly appreciated!!!!


many thanks!


Roo Raft
 
The FIRST thing you should do, especially since you already have it, is put the 303 aerospace protectant on the vinyl.  I would NEVER use the cleaner if I didn't have time to follow up with a coat of protectant.  I'm guessing using the cleaner would remove the previous layer of protectant.


I used some of it on our trampoline spring cover (which is vinyl).  There are a couple spots I missed that have faded and shredded (torn open) from the sun.  Everything else (where I put the 303) looks brand new still!  And I only put it on ONCE, which was maybe 3 years ago.


Needless to say, I am a FIRM believer in the 303 products.  First hand experience.  Put that stuff on right away.  If you only have time to do one or the other, skip the cleaner and put the protectant on.  It will keep the sun from destroying your vinyl seats.


Go do it right now.
 
Thank you kaydano for your reply!! The boat is slipped at the lake so the next time we head out there I will be sure to apply the protectant!


i always leave the playpen mooring cover on when it is not in use.  Can the 303 aerospace protectant be used on the outer surface of the playpen cover as well as the Bimini top???
 
++ on the use of 303 products, although their names can be a bit confusing.


Fabric cleaner and aerospace protectorant to clean and then protect the vinyl seats (although some other stronger cleaning products are needed to clean some spots).


Fabric guard to protect the mooring cover, bimini, and bimini boot. 
 
THANK YOU for all the guidance!!!!  This coming weekend I will do the cleaner and followed up with the Aerospace protectant.   


Gonna order some fabric guard from Amazon soon too!!!
 
Congrats on the new boat!! The 303 products definitely work great! But one requirement on this site that the others forgot is pics! We require pictures!! I'm sure you'll find lots of great stuff on here. Happy Boating! 
 
Roo Raft said:
Hello Club Bennington community!!  My wife and I (we live in New England) are recent owners of a 2016 bennington pontoon and we are so excited for all the adventures that will be coming our way along with our family and friends!!!  


Roo Raft
Click to expand...

Welcome Roo Raft! +1 on the 303 products. I'd also recommend a good wax for the sides and outboard engine. My boat sits in the water all season long so I have two washing mitts (one for each hand) that is use to wipe down the toons top to bottom, inside and out, once a weekend at the sandbar. 
 
Not much to do as far as winterization on an outboard.  As long as the motor is straight up and down the water will drain out so no threat of freezing like on an inboard/outboard.  Every 2 or three years you will need to replace the impeller and do service on the lower drive.  The nice thing about an outboard is that you can take it out in January if you get a rare warm day and not need to winterize it.  Enjoy the new boat.


Jack
 
One other thing on the aerospace protectorant -- I watch out for overspray because that can make my vinyl floor a bit slick.  I do love the stuff though -- most of the time I can just clean up spots with a rag dampened only with water.
 
Before your dealer winterizes your boat, find out what he charges.  It's best to go ahead and change the oil and filter and replace the lower unit grease.  Other than adding a stabilizer to gasoline, that's about it to winterizing.  Some with such punishing weather might also have their boat wrapped to keep it out of the weather.


I do my own maintenance for a big savings $.  And in the South, our boating season lasts March to December so we don't really do much winterizing on modern 4 stroke motors.
 
Did the 303 applications this weekend.  All good for another 4 weeks or so!!


I have two questions for any fellow readers / members:1) motor throttle     When past a certain point on the throttle control, I need to keep my hand on the throttle to stay at that speed.   Is this normal  or can the throttle be tightened to keep it "hands-free" when cruising at a faster speed?  It is a 2016 Mercury 60hp command thrust outboard. 2) in the cubby where the helm is, water spews into the cubby from what looks like a screw hole that was drilled when Benny was being manufactured but a screw was never put in there.  Instead they put a screw right in front of that hole and never did anything with the hole. Can this be filled so it keeps the cubby and the belongings inside it dry?
 
Michiman said:
Welcome Roo Raft! +1 on the 303 products. I'd also recommend a good wax for the sides and outboard engine. My boat sits in the water all season long so I have two washing mitts (one for each hand) that is use to wipe down the toons top to bottom, inside and out, once a weekend at the sandbar. 
Click to expand...

Any recommendations on wax brands and types for the outboard motor cowls and my Benny's outside walls?
 
There is an adjustment for the throttle friction and yes, fill the screw hole.
 
+1 on the tension screw. You should be able to find a model number for the throttle. Look up the owners manual on line or have somone withe the same throttle snap a photo of where the adjustment screw is.
 
Roo Raft said:
Any recommendations on wax brands and types for the outboard motor cowls and my Benny's outside walls?
Click to expand...

I'm sure you'll get plenty of different answers on the best wax, and I've tried "marine" and "auto" over the years and don't see much difference. Personally, I'm back to an old standby, Nuwax(?), the stuff that comes in the orange bottle. IMO, most waxes will do the job so I think the most important thing is just to do it. 
 
Michiman said:
I'm sure you'll get plenty of different answers on the best wax, and I've tried "marine" and "auto" over the years and don't see much difference. Personally, I'm back to an old standby, Nuwax(?), the stuff that comes in the orange bottle. IMO, most waxes will do the job so I think the most important thing is just to do it. 
Click to expand...

Maybe you mean Nu Finish wax?  http://www.nufinish.com/
 
Roo Raft said:
Hello Club Bennington community!!  My wife and I (we live in New England) are recent owners of a 2016 bennington pontoon and we are so excited for all the adventures that will be coming our way along with our family and friends!!!  


i wanted to pose a question in regards to any routine maintenance guidance club Bennington members can share with us to help maintain the vinyl floor, upholstery, etc??  


we have purchased the 303 multi-surface cleaner that we have used on the seats, etc.  We have also purchased the 303 aerospace protectant as well but have yet to use this.  we have also used a deck scrub brush to scrub the vinyl deck, etc.    our Bennington Dealer is great work with and they will service the outboard motor as well as the winterization of the motor and boat and storage during the north east winter months.  any suggestions you see helpful is greatly appreciated!!!!


many thanks!


Roo Raft
Click to expand...

When it comes to waxing.You always get wax into the little edges and spots that you can't get out.So your left with dried wax that looks bad in my opinion. So, I started using Wax as You Dry 10 years ago on the cars,trucks,and boat. Best thing I ever did,easy peasy. It gets applied at the end of the weekend when the boat is covered for the week.Really helps with the water spots too_Oh ya, welcome to the Bennington nation!
 
Roo Raft said:
Roo Raft said:
Did the 303 applications this weekend.  All good for another 4 weeks or so!!


I have two questions for any fellow readers / members:1) motor throttle     When past a certain point on the throttle control, I need to keep my hand on the throttle to stay at that speed.   Is this normal  or can the throttle be tightened to keep it "hands-free" when cruising at a faster speed?  It is a 2016 Mercury 60hp command thrust outboard. 2) in the cubby where the helm is, water spews into the cubby from what looks like a screw hole that was drilled when Benny was being manufactured but a screw was never put in there.  Instead they put a screw right in front of that hole and never did anything with the hole. Can this be filled so it keeps the cubby and the belongings inside it dry?
Click to expand...

Any recommendations on wax brands and types for the outboard motor cowls and my Benny's outside walls?
Click to expand...


Roo Raft said:
Did the 303 applications this weekend.  All good for another 4 weeks or so!!


I have two questions for any fellow readers / members:1) motor throttle     When past a certain point on the throttle control, I need to keep my hand on the throttle to stay at that speed.   Is this normal  or can the throttle be tightened to keep it "hands-free" when cruising at a faster speed?  It is a 2016 Mercury 60hp command thrust outboard. 2) in the cubby where the helm is, water spews into the cubby from what looks like a screw hole that was drilled when Benny was being manufactured but a screw was never put in there.  Instead they put a screw right in front of that hole and never did anything with the hole. Can this be filled so it keeps the cubby and the belongings inside it dry?
Click to expand...

Tension nut is tough to get to you have to crawl under the helm you'll see the little nut sticking out I think it was 7/16 give it a few turns. you don't need many my throttle was doing the same thing and a few turns is all it took it's been fine all season.  

20130729_145715_zpsb1c3336c.jpg
 
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