New member - A couple questions on options

Thanks for the feedback everyone. LOTO is something you need to experience to understand, some love it, some hate it. It has great scenery, beautiful houses, tons of restaurants right on the water and big $$ boats to dream about. We have had a place on LOTO since the 60's when I was a kid, it has become a way of life for us. The water is very rough on weekends and holidays, but in the Spring and Fall it's a great place to boat.

Waiting for the new V6 to come out is a tough decision, not sure what I'm going to do.
 
Like others have said, LOTO is absolutely amazing. Between all the scenery, houses, boats, lakeside bars/restaurants, and miles and miles of water for all types, it is something to behold. On the weekends in the main channel busy area, you just need the right boat and high awareness. For that, outside of a big cruiser, Bennington makes models that do it as good or better than just about anyone.

Headed back there in early June ourselves and we can't wait!
 
The ESP package was specifically engineered for LOTO. It is a gorgeous and fun place just avoid weekends and holidays.
 
At LOTO in main channel on weekends, picture a not overly wide lake with steep, mostly rock banks where the waves bounce off the sides instead of being dissolved into the banks. Couple that with numerous large cruisers that can have very large wakes, many times converging at different angles and directions...
It's not like wind waves or boat wakes where you can predict direction and such.
This is worst case but on weekends, pretty common and you have to have a boat capable of handling it.
I can certainly second that! It is ridiculous how big the boats, and the wakes, are on this lake. There definite should be a limit to the size allowed on the lake but it will never happen! Seeing more and more Bennys and other tritoons on the lake since they handle the wakes so much better than the smaller bowriders. Unless one can afford a 31-33 ft bowrider, a tritoon is the way to go! And Bennington is the best tritoon out there and worth the extra money. is
 
The ESP package was specifically engineered for LOTO. It is a gorgeous and fun place just avoid weekends and holidays.
Totally agree. We love the weekdays, but now with the Benny, we are able to enjoy the weekends much more! Just need to know what places to avoid.
 
Waiting for the new V6 to come out is a tough decision, not sure what I'm going to do.

Just my 2 cents but I’d think your way thru waiting on a first year motor. I always waited a year on snowmobiles so they could work the kinks out. Maybe they won’t have any but it’s a bunch of money to find out the hard way. Besides you could waiting for a boat to come in instead of waiting for a motor release.
 
BTW, there is a lot of stupid on Lake of the Ozarks, but not ALL of us are a bunch of Hicks:)
 
BTW, there is a lot of stupid on Lake of the Ozarks, but not ALL of us are a bunch of Hicks:)

I just had this conversation with my BIL Sunday. As I was at a wedding in Southern Iowa and talking about the ubiquity of folks with no teeth or black crooked teeth (we call it meth mouth). And we clearly stated that in EVRERY state there are pockets of hick-a-billies. So yes I 100% agree with not everywhere in the Ozarks are there a bunch of hicks. :) And even those that one might generalize as a "Hick" are the most down to earth trustworthy salt of the earth folks one would encounter.
 
I just had this conversation with my BIL Sunday. As I was at a wedding in Southern Iowa and talking about the ubiquity of folks with no teeth or black crooked teeth (we call it meth mouth). And we clearly stated that in EVRERY state there are pockets of hick-a-billies. So yes I 100% agree with not everywhere in the Ozarks are there a bunch of hicks. :) And even those that one might generalize as a "Hick" are the most down to earth trustworthy salt of the earth folks one would encounter.
Hey!!! I resemble that statement! :)
 
Because we don't do much watersports I'm thinking I don't need the in-floor storage. I've had a boat with it for 20 years and never used it. When we ski or tube we do it off our dock, so water sports equipment never even goes on the boat. That being said, I know it will help re-sale, but I'd rather put the $$ towards another option we would like. I just hate to spend $$ for an option for the next owner of the boat. Another plus is I like a smooth clean floor. (Table delete)
Dealer thinks I have to have it for re-sale, am I nuts to not order it?
 
Our table is in the garage.
 
Yup, when you keep your boat in a dock at your house (LOTO) you tend to go out for rides, not spend the day in the boat. In our 99 Sundancer pontoon we never used the table.
 
Because we don't do much watersports I'm thinking I don't need the in-floor storage. I've had a boat with it for 20 years and never used it. When we ski or tube we do it off our dock, so water sports equipment never even goes on the boat. That being said, I know it will help re-sale, but I'd rather put the $$ towards another option we would like. I just hate to spend $$ for an option for the next owner of the boat. Another plus is I like a smooth clean floor. (Table delete)
Dealer thinks I have to have it for re-sale, am I nuts to not order it?

Resale is a funny thing, it all depends on where the boat sits in price range as to what people are willing to overlook. When we were custom ordering our last boat, we looked at the lighted cup holders and underwater lighting and figured since we had never been out at night in our last two, really don't need it on this one. WE were thinking "this thing already has 100k MSRP, don't need to add stuff we won't use" . The flip side is when we were selling it, people shelling out big dollars for a high end boat WANT all the things THEY would use. So me saving the $1000 or so when ordering could have cost me the sale. It probably cost me more in the sale price in the end, and it's a fairly simple add on after the fact. In floor storage, not so easy to add! Haha not to mention it gives you a 33.3% better idea if one of your pontoons have a hole in it!! Haha
 
Drove an hour to another dealer this am, it really helps seeing different colors and options in person.
Boy the ESP package with the required fuel tank is expensive! Then the ski pole is more expensive too. On rough water in a 22GSR w/200hp would I notice much difference with ride quality with the ESP vs the SPS Plus?
 
The link below from this forum was helpful for me when we ordered our boat last year.

We ended up going with the SPS and a 200hp motor on our S series. SPS is going to be more of a flat, stable, and buoyant ride. We have an S series, and alternate between cruising around and water sports. It’s great for everything we do, and handles rough water nicely.

My non-first hand knowledge of the ESP is that its main difference is the larger center tube, providing even more buoyancy than the SPS. My understanding is it will partically mimic a v-haul due to the center toon being larger than the outer toons - a little lean or bank in turns. I’d say use and body of water may be main factors to go by. Lots of turning & maneuvering on a large and very rough body of water? ESP. Want some of the handling of a v-haul in turns and when doing water sports? ESP. Normal levels of rough water with a G-series? SPS. Prefer a buoyant but flat ride without lean? SPS.

If a heavier R or Q series boat, on rough water, then for sure the ESP’s buoyancy would be worth the extra money. Also, someone else with an ESP can chime in and correct me on some of this, or give you their first hand impressions of the ESP.

http://club.benningtonmarine.com/threads/sps-vs-esp.3508/
 
Vikingstaff summed it up
 
Yup he did. I will add, it took ONE power turn in my ESP 200hp to sell a couple on the abilities of ESP over their year or two old tritoon w/150! Well, the turn sold the husband, the luxury R sold the wife! Haha don't get me wrong, the SPS is great, this couple had kids and grandchildren that use it all the time so ESP was great for them.
 
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