Nautical
Well-Known Member
Okay, don't celebrate just yet ... sit back down and after you wipe the soda (pop, if you're into that) off of your monitor, read this and help me out if you can.
I have a short list. Really short now but I'm struggling a little bit. Boat one is a 2024 leftover 22LX sport. The other is a 2025 22M class. Both boats have Yam 200hp and are of the Swingback persuasion. Neither have the second Captain's chair which is a command straight from the Admiral. As you might expect, the M costs more than the LX by roughly $10K. The reason the difference isn't larger is due to the MSRP on the LX, which is roughly $10k higher than the M. Both boats look great, especially the LX due to the smooth sides (Avalon style with the frame BEHIND the sheeting). However, I am concerned about damage over time due to that design (Airstream trailer owners get it!).
There are 3 options the 2025 M has that I want. It has center tube storage which the LX lacks. The new swingback for 2025 does some awesome tricks with the retractable keeper rail and the ability to have forward AND rear facing passengers simultaneously. The Admiral's station does its own little swingback trick allowing her to ride forward or rear facing. Nice. Some might say they copied Barletta but hey, at least they didn't add a dog bowl (oops, wait, they did and this one has it). I'm glad they did all of that with the seats though because Benny's lack of those kind of features nearly drove me to Barletta.
Initially I thought to myself $10k was a lot to pay for those 3 or 4 things but there is more. They added a tip out garbage can which also has a flip up table. Just don't use both at once or it will be like the little brat on the plane slamming his seat back the moment the flight attendant places your filled-to-the-rim rum and coke on the tray table. They digitized all of the gauges. Most or all of the switches are digital too. Some may not like that but I've seen all types of switches fail over time so I'm fine with it. Besides that these systems have been around a while. They spiffed up the helm quite a bit with some fancy compartments and other little tricks here and there too.
The only feature that I have found that the M lacks but the LX has is Simtex. However, that is a plus for us if we go with the M because we weren't thrilled with it in our 2017. I was afraid I was going to stain or rip it. I know it's probably not that fragile and it's supposed to clean up great but either way, I'm fine with the vinyl on the M and more importantly ... so is the Admiral.
The reason I'm soliciting advice, experiences and educated opinions here isn't so much about the extra $10k. That money buys me some desired options, some new, surprise things and a year newer boat which might be worth it all by itself. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I've been away from the brand since 2019 and much has changed. Did Bennington change anything for the worse between 2024 and 2025? Do you know something about the M or LX Sport you'd like to share that perhaps I should factor in? I have not missed center tube storage in my last two pontoons but I did like having it in my first. However, the only thing I ever ended up putting in there were the fenders and that made the compartment dirty and smelly after a while. On top of that, retrieving said fenders at the end of the day made for some undignified crawling on the floor. A vast majority of the time it will be only my wife and I on the boat or perhaps 1 or 2 passengers at most, who likely won't ride in rear facing seats the M now offers in the swingback area so that wouldn't be terribly missed. The Admiral will probably never use the front facing position at her post because it would require an ottoman which seems unnecessary and makes for another thing to store. Without an ottman it appers to be less comfortable than the captains chair she didn't want in the first place. Maybe Simtex improved since 2017 and I'd be missing out on that? The LX has a manual bimini where the M has the electric one but I was not crazy about that on my 2017 (I did write about why - it's buried here somewhere on the forum).
So when is the party?
I have a short list. Really short now but I'm struggling a little bit. Boat one is a 2024 leftover 22LX sport. The other is a 2025 22M class. Both boats have Yam 200hp and are of the Swingback persuasion. Neither have the second Captain's chair which is a command straight from the Admiral. As you might expect, the M costs more than the LX by roughly $10K. The reason the difference isn't larger is due to the MSRP on the LX, which is roughly $10k higher than the M. Both boats look great, especially the LX due to the smooth sides (Avalon style with the frame BEHIND the sheeting). However, I am concerned about damage over time due to that design (Airstream trailer owners get it!).
There are 3 options the 2025 M has that I want. It has center tube storage which the LX lacks. The new swingback for 2025 does some awesome tricks with the retractable keeper rail and the ability to have forward AND rear facing passengers simultaneously. The Admiral's station does its own little swingback trick allowing her to ride forward or rear facing. Nice. Some might say they copied Barletta but hey, at least they didn't add a dog bowl (oops, wait, they did and this one has it). I'm glad they did all of that with the seats though because Benny's lack of those kind of features nearly drove me to Barletta.
Initially I thought to myself $10k was a lot to pay for those 3 or 4 things but there is more. They added a tip out garbage can which also has a flip up table. Just don't use both at once or it will be like the little brat on the plane slamming his seat back the moment the flight attendant places your filled-to-the-rim rum and coke on the tray table. They digitized all of the gauges. Most or all of the switches are digital too. Some may not like that but I've seen all types of switches fail over time so I'm fine with it. Besides that these systems have been around a while. They spiffed up the helm quite a bit with some fancy compartments and other little tricks here and there too.
The only feature that I have found that the M lacks but the LX has is Simtex. However, that is a plus for us if we go with the M because we weren't thrilled with it in our 2017. I was afraid I was going to stain or rip it. I know it's probably not that fragile and it's supposed to clean up great but either way, I'm fine with the vinyl on the M and more importantly ... so is the Admiral.
The reason I'm soliciting advice, experiences and educated opinions here isn't so much about the extra $10k. That money buys me some desired options, some new, surprise things and a year newer boat which might be worth it all by itself. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I've been away from the brand since 2019 and much has changed. Did Bennington change anything for the worse between 2024 and 2025? Do you know something about the M or LX Sport you'd like to share that perhaps I should factor in? I have not missed center tube storage in my last two pontoons but I did like having it in my first. However, the only thing I ever ended up putting in there were the fenders and that made the compartment dirty and smelly after a while. On top of that, retrieving said fenders at the end of the day made for some undignified crawling on the floor. A vast majority of the time it will be only my wife and I on the boat or perhaps 1 or 2 passengers at most, who likely won't ride in rear facing seats the M now offers in the swingback area so that wouldn't be terribly missed. The Admiral will probably never use the front facing position at her post because it would require an ottoman which seems unnecessary and makes for another thing to store. Without an ottman it appers to be less comfortable than the captains chair she didn't want in the first place. Maybe Simtex improved since 2017 and I'd be missing out on that? The LX has a manual bimini where the M has the electric one but I was not crazy about that on my 2017 (I did write about why - it's buried here somewhere on the forum).
So when is the party?
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