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S SERIES VS L SERIES vs all others, deck construction

Bill N said:
Long after it's paid for, the "I wish we would haves" will remain.
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This L series at the moment only has, "did we really need thats". The only wish we had, is a lower price, but as my daughter said, why pay 80% of the price for a pontoon that doesn't work. As far as the deck and amenities, I am pretty handy if something comes up we need. It is so new it has not been assembled yet, here are some pics of it in the shop. the day we were there they took the helm off to hook up the sub and electric over hydraulic.
 

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DAVECS1 said:
This L series at the moment only has, "did we really need thats". The only wish we had, is a lower price, but as my daughter said, why pay 80% of the price for a pontoon that doesn't work. As far as the deck and amenities, I am pretty handy if something comes up we need. It is so new it has not been assembled yet, here are some pics of it in the shop. the day we were there they took the helm off to hook up the sub and electric over hydraulic.
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Nice! that floor storage will be something you find worth all $15k of the price difference... I underestimated how useful it would be... and 2 years in, i still say every time we are out how lucky we were to have limited inventory and got pushed up (~$30k in my case) over where we started... the storage locker was worth it alone
 
Looks like a beauty Dave! :cool:

Is the sheet of paper on the starboard pontoon the spec sheet in your first picture? If so, did you snag a picture of it? OR…do you have the spec sheet and options? If you are open to sharing, and no need to be, I’d be curious to peak at all of it.

…And hooking up a sub!?! Nice!!! That is something I wish we had added on OEM to boost our system. You will love having power assist with a high HP motor. As the captain that does 99% of the piloting, it’s a feature/treat for yourself that pays off every trip out.
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With them hooking up the sub, it sounds like it is probably very well optioned. Hope the price and everything works out for it because the boat itself should be amazing. Perfect long term for practicality, flexibility and durability - great for anything and everything you want to do with it - relative to tooning.
 
I am sure you are watching Boat Trader....There are more Benningtons listed than I have seen since 2019 when I started looking, and with the 10 year transferrable warranty...... IF you expect to do a lot of cruising with just the wife - the co-captain may be ULTRA important.
 
I am not capable of getting the deal done on the LSB, the dealer really went the extra mile to try and make it work, but I just cannot stomach the numbers at this moment.

The SXSB fits comfortably in our budget, so we are gonna see just how bad this pontoon package is. It has all the options the LSB did, plus a livewell and safety gate. Also comes with an optioned out trailer.
 
Bummer that LSB didn’t work out.

However, that SXSB will get you on the water, and mobile with the trailer. It will also be a nice boat layout.

The Express hull does fit a niche and price point. Gets you better performance than a traditional 2-log pontoon, and you can power it with enough HP to do water sports.

Compared to a full tritoon you mainly give up a little ride quality, sits at a much more promised angle in the water, and handles a bit differently.

My personal advice given what you have shared is perhaps stick to inland lakes with that hull, and not venture out into Lake Michigan. You have plenty to choose from. I would only try the Great Lakes with a SPS, SPS+ or ESP hull myself, and then only on a perfect day.

Anyway, congratulations on reaching a decision. Perhaps hare some pictures of it if you are so inclined after you get it.
 
Thanks, we went into this with 35K budget figured we could stretch to 40 for the right float. We road on and saw some nice floats used and new, but then we were introduced to a tritoon, and Dealers were able to give us some favorable rates with a sizeable down payment, so then we started shopping new. I have some friends that do financial services and their opinion is rates are only heading north. so at that point I would need to put together another 25 to 40K or find the right deal the family likes. I am hoping we have found that float. If it all works out we should be on the water saturday afternoon, we live a mile from the illinois river.

Bennington became my go to after riding on two, as they felt super solid compared to the rest. The Suntracker and regency had tons of features for the money, but they lacked that solid billet feeling.

So long story longer, excited to get a brand new Bennington. This will be our 3rd boat but very first new off the showroom floor boat. The wife and I decided we will see just how horrible this tube package is as we like everything else, if it truly is abysmall we will regroup in a couple years, with some memories already under our belt
 
Im sure you and your family will be happy with it
 
DAVECS1 said:
Thanks, we went into this with 35K budget figured we could stretch to 40 for the right float. We road on and saw some nice floats used and new, but then we were introduced to a tritoon, and Dealers were able to give us some favorable rates with a sizeable down payment, so then we started shopping new. I have some friends that do financial services and their opinion is rates are only heading north. so at that point I would need to put together another 25 to 40K or find the right deal the family likes. I am hoping we have found that float. If it all works out we should be on the water saturday afternoon, we live a mile from the illinois river.

Bennington became my go to after riding on two, as they felt super solid compared to the rest. The Suntracker and regency had tons of features for the money, but they lacked that solid billet feeling.

So long story longer, excited to get a brand new Bennington. This will be our 3rd boat but very first new off the showroom floor boat. The wife and I decided we will see just how horrible this tube package is as we like everything else, if it truly is abysmall we will regroup in a couple years, with some memories already under our belt
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Congratulations on your new Benny! While we pointed out what we thought were some issues with the express toon option, I’m hoping that you will find it anything but “horrible”. WVFan4 seems happy with his and I suspect you will too. Perhaps the real issue is that we’ve not heard from all the satisfied customers.

Something tells me that sleep will be hard to come by prior to Saturday. Enjoy…
 
Vikingstaff said:
Bummer that LSB didn’t work out.

However, that SXSB will get you on the water, and mobile with the trailer. It will also be a nice boat layout.

The Express hull does fit a niche and price point. Gets you better performance than a traditional 2-log pontoon, and you can power it with enough HP to do water sports.

Compared to a full tritoon you mainly give up a little ride quality, sits at a much more promised angle in the water, and handles a bit differently.

My personal advice given what you have shared is perhaps stick to inland lakes with that hull, and not venture out into Lake Michigan. You have plenty to choose from. I would only try the Great Lakes with a SPS, SPS+ or ESP hull myself, and then only on a perfect day.

Anyway, congratulations on reaching a decision. Perhaps hare some pictures of it if you are so inclined after you get it.
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I think he'd be fine on nice days on Lake Michigan or any open water. I mean, we boat on Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron every weekend (except for this year which has sucked), but if a twin Elip boat can handle this chop at 30+mph and be comfortable, I would expect his express package to do at least as well. :)


Open water.MOV

32' twin elliptical tubes do a nice job of taking on the chop at 30+ mph
club.benningtonmarine.com club.benningtonmarine.com
 
mtudb24 said:
I think he'd be fine on nice days on Lake Michigan or any open water. I mean, we boat on Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron every weekend (except for this year which has sucked), but if a twin Elip boat can handle this chop at 30+mph and be comfortable, I would expect his express package to do at least as well. :)


Open water.MOV

32' twin elliptical tubes do a nice job of taking on the chop at 30+ mph
club.benningtonmarine.com club.benningtonmarine.com
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On a calm day perhaps. I‘d be worried about something unexpected rolling in so I wouldn’t venture far in a EPP hull in that sort of body of water myself.

Twin Elip’s are the most buoyant of the hulls - less draft and more buoyancy than even the tritoons. I’d expect the Twin Elip to handle chop very well. I would think they would be much better than the EPP on rough day, big body of water, and sit normal in the water while doing it.

It’d be interesting in a perfect world to try out the different hulls in various water conditions.
 
I had asked my dealer with every purchase ,if he thought it would be safe to take it to the island . ( Mackinac )
Every time he said No . The past 2 he thought that on the very best of days , take it to the bridge ( Mackinac ) and head back .
 
I ordered the SX 23 fishing model over the L model. Cheaper price and in my mind wasn't worth the price difference. As noted above, the SPS+ toon package is better and can handle the 250HP. I went with the 250 for increased HP and the V6 engine since it gets better fuel economy than a 4 cylinder 150/200. You will notice the difference.
 
DAVECS1 said:
I asked, but I did not insist. I get the feeling he wants to move thxe SX as he said I could do that but it will not be at this price point.

with that said he did not say what the price difference would be vs the LSR. We are getting 8500 discount on the SX. My understanding was it was ordered and had the additional add ons and then never picked up.

Man I wish I could sea trial one or the other. You all have me concerned.

not gonna lie, in the back of my mind I am also thinking are you gonna up charge yourself based on some internet chat....... maybe

not a big deal breaker but the SX comes with a saltwater low profile trailer, should fit a 7'9" door with bimi removed. so I could keep it in the attached garage of I wanted too.
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The fall is an excellent time to order a new Bennington since 2023 pricing will still be in effect and you will be ordering a 2024 boat. I ordered my 2020 23 GSR in October 2019 and spec'ed it out with the ESP hull and a Yamaha 300 with all the extras. I got 2019 pricing and exactly what I wanted. The boat came to the dealer in January and he stored it until it was delivered in early May. Agree with the raised helm (make sure you get the door on the side of the raised helm that opens for storage) and get the maximum rated horsepower, you will never regret it.
 
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