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Odd looking wake

Geoffrey & Brenda

Geoffrey & Brenda

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So we where out enjoying our new toon this last weekend, as we where cruising along, i was looking at the wake behind the boat. The port side comes out as a smooth stream, the starboard side comes out turbulent. When we anchored to go for a swim, i went under the boat thinking we had picked up a stick or something. What i found was there is a deflector plate on the port side and not on the starboard side, hmmmm. I assumed there should be one on both sides and figuired it was overlooked during assembly. I emailed Bennington to see about getting this plate i thought was missing, much to my suprise, i was informed this plate only comes on boats ordered with a wave tamer package, and the one on the port side is to protect the fuel hoses. Really? I get the protection thing, but why would'nt you put one on the other side as well? It's just a $10 aluminum plate. And after looking at the build your boat on the website, i don't see a wave tamer option. As turbulent as the water looks coming off the toon, i felt this must hinder performance. Maybe i'm being too picky, after all, the boat performs as advertised, but i thought i would see if anyone else had noticed this, and what some of your opinions are. And if T-B has some input, i would like to hear that as well!

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the option is called a under deck waveshield. It stops the boat from surging in rough water. Look on page 10 I think of the catalog. We got it on ours and it was awesome in the very rough water this past weekend

Todd
 
Hey G7B

On my boat I ordered the ESP package which includes the under deck wave shield however it is on both side and extends almost all of the way to the front of the boat. What you have under your boat does not look like mine. Did you send these pics to Bennington?

Steve
 
Yeah its called a "wave shield" or simply underskinning, but those cover the entire length of the underside of the boat covering all the crossmembers between the pontoons. His pictures just show a section of aluminum on the port side that looks to be about 2 feet wide and about 5 or 6 feet long.

You sent those pictures with your email and that is what Bennington told you? Sounds like a goofy answer; the inverted V-shaped piece with transom on the end is what protects fuel lines on my boat.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, i realize i did not buy a top of the line boat, nor did i order any form of performance upgrade. It just seemed strange to me that there was not a plate on both sides. I was hoping to hear from some other SLi owners just to get their input as to wheather anyone else had noticed this and thought it was as odd as i did. I had also hoped that T-B might give me some feedback as well. I have sent an email to Bennington asking for a part # for the plate, and will decide whether to buy one from them or have one made locally. T-B has made it clear that they do not want warranty issues or complaints posted on this website, so just to make this crystal clear, this post is not intended as a complaint, just a quest for others opinions. This is a very good place for us all to share our good times and boating adventures, so i will do my part to keep it that way. Thanks All and thanks T-B
 
Of course they do not want complaints, it would scare folks off looking to buy a quality boat. Of course if Bennington is not afraid of their quality control dept. missing something they would not have to worry. To me they missed something. They missed a lot of somethings on my boat as well. Do not fear them. The worse they could do is kick you from site. :blink:
 
Geoffrey & Brenda said:
Thanks for the responses guys, i realize i did not buy a top of the line boat, nor did i order any form of performance upgrade. It just seemed strange to me that there was not a plate on both sides. I was hoping to hear from some other SLi owners just to get their input as to wheather anyone else had noticed this and thought it was as odd as i did. I had also hoped that T-B might give me some feedback as well. I have sent an email to Bennington asking for a part # for the plate, and will decide whether to buy one from them or have one made locally. T-B has made it clear that they do not want warranty issues or complaints posted on this website, so just to make this crystal clear, this post is not intended as a complaint, just a quest for others opinions. This is a very good place for us all to share our good times and boating adventures, so i will do my part to keep it that way. Thanks All and thanks T-B
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I don't think questions about equipment would be considered complaining. I too would like to learn more about the plates as we boat on a river that can get rough on weekends. As far as the 20SLI....There aren't as many choices as far as options but the quality is still there. The water level where we boat changes quickly and we can position the 20SLI far enough back on the dock to minimise it's effects. We did a lot of research on pontoons and found Bennington to be by far the best.
 
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sparkdr220, you and Joy have essentially the same boat as we do, have you looked under it to see if it has 2 plates? and, have you looked at the wake pattern? I received a reply from Bennington, a second plate is not part of their inventory, but offered to fabricate one if i provided the dimentions to my dealer. I think i'll just have one made locally, after all it's not rocket science. It will probably be a couple of weeks before i get that done, but i'll post the results at that time.
 
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G & B have you thought about just having your boat underskinned. The cost might not be much differant and it will improve your ride. noise level, speed and I would think gas mileage.

Steve
 
Hey Steve, yes, that is where this will all end up, we have a company here that makes truck bodies, a friend of mine works there....... But i wanted the plate, so things are symetrical under the boat. I am hoping it will give us a few more mph's. Thanks for the thought!
 
Geoffrey & Brenda said:
sparkdr220, you and Joy have essentially the same boat as we do, have you looked under it to see if it has 2 plates? and, have you looked at the wake pattern? I received a reply from Bennington, a second plate is not part of their inventory, but offered to fabricate one if i provided the dimentions to my dealer. I think i'll just have one made locally, after all it's not rocket science. It will probably be a couple of weeks before i get that done, but i'll post the results at that time.
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We don't have any plates. We will have the boat out of the water this weekend and I will confirm. We can feel the boat lurching at higher speeds in rough water. I will definately be interested to hear how your performance changes with plates on both sides. It's something I may do in the off season.
 
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Ok, here we go. S series boats have a fuel tank located in the transom. The lines therefore run under the deck and need to be covered; hence the small "plate" to cover the lines. (other companies would not go the extra mile to cover those lines, btw). We find the S series performance to be very acceptable with this plate. We suppose you could add another plate on the opposite side if that wake really bothers you, but we do not think it affects performance or aesthetics.

An underdeck waveshield is optional equpment on all pontoons and standard equipment on the ESP package. A modified waveshield is standard equipment with the Express package. Waveshields are an excellent choice for big choppy bodies of water; most second or third-time pontoon owners select it for their boats. Wavesheilds deflect water from the deck and cross members, preventing surging and rumbling under the deck.

Hope this helps. TB

p.s. TB tries to be helpful but we do not plan to monitor every posting and reply to every issue as the club grows! :p
 
The underdeck waveshield is a great option / investment. We launched our new 2275 RCW this weekend on Saginaw Bay. It was a strong North 20 to 25mph wind when we launched Sunday afternoon. A true 2 to 3 foot whitecap chop was on the bay. We never felt anything underneath or noticed any spray in any seating position no matter how we attacked the waves. Head on, following seas, quatering, etc. The ride was smooth and dry. The 32" elipitcal tubes provided a wonderful dry ride. The power fom the Mercury 150 Pro XS was more then enough to get on plane and power through the chop. My family and I can't be any happier with our new purchase. Coming off 18 years of owning center consoles and walk around cuddy cabins (Wellcraft, Pursuit and Grady WHite) and fishing tournaments on Lake Huron / Saginaw Bay, it was a very pleasant transition to a more family friendly pontoon boat. Our kids now at age 4 and 7, fell in love with the boat within 5 minutes of launching the boat at the marina. So many creature comforts and a wonderful ride proved to be the best decision we could ever make.

Enjoy your new boat. Bennington is a top notch boat company and their customer service and dealership network is second to none.

If you have any questions, let me know

Thanks

Todd
 
First, let me thank all of you for your input, and to T-B for taking time to respond. The end result to all of this will be getting a plate fabricated for the other side, and eventually underskinning the rest. I will post some pics as i progress with it. As T-B pointed out, this does not affect performance, and the boat does perform well. I guess i'm just a bit to anal about our toon. We absolutley love the boat, and have found pontooning to be a real pleasure. So i'll just enjoy our new toy, and do the upgrades as time allows. If T-B reads this, how about we set up another area where owners can ask/post questions/comment directed to you, that way you could answer some questions without digging through all the posts in other areas of the site? I think that would be a good way for us to communicate with T-B without cluttering up other areas of the site. That's it for now, Thanks again!
 
Does anyone know approximately how much speed you will gain from the waveshield? From what I have read on Benningtons website, they do not talk about increase in speed with it, only a smoother ride.
 
Bigtop said:
Does anyone know approximately how much speed you will gain from the waveshield? From what I have read on Benningtons website, they do not talk about increase in speed with it, only a smoother ride.
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Currently i get 18 mph GPS recorded speed on a 20SLi with a 50hp Yamaha at 5500 rpm, when i'm done with the installation of an additional shield and underskin i will post the results. I think the benifit will be smoother ride at higher throttle settings, which should equate to some mph gain. Some other members with factory installed wave shields may be able to give you a better answer, but i don't think you should look for a drastic increase, after all, pontoons are not really built for speed, just a pleasurable ride!
 
I had time to get out and test my set up. 150 merc pro xs. 32"elip elip tubes, lifting strakes, waveshield, rough water package. 44mph at 5600the rpm. Turning 15x15 merc enertia prop.wot is 5750. We hit 5600 rpm with 2 adults and full fuel.

hope this helps. Should get a bit more speed after engine is broken in.

Todd
 
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