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Welcome to Club Bennington

My dealer has 40 Benningtons on lot or on order (few left on order). He’s sold 2 to people in Louisiana and we are in southeast Pa. :eek:
 
JL711 said:
Hey Fernman63, welcome to the board. I’ve been lurking a few days and this is my 1st post as well. Been shopping for my boat. If I could ask, when did your dealer write your order? My local dealership doesn’t seem enthusiastic about ordering a boat at this time.
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Hello - be sure to look at the Facebook Bennington Pontoon site - I have now seen a few posting of gently used and dealer new listings, one with pricing info that suggested a 20% discount off a $90K MSRP! And, we here at the club are HAPPY to spend your money and build you a boat - LOL - of course will result in a $200K plus investment.....
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Hello - be sure to look at the Facebook Bennington Pontoon site - I have now seen a few posting of gently used and dealer new listings, one with pricing info that suggested a 20% discount off a $90K MSRP! And, we here at the club are HAPPY to spend your money and build you a boat - LOL - of course will result in a $200K plus investment.....
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Thanks Laurence, I’ll check out the FB site. I’ve seen some good deals just as you described. Just haven’t been made happy with what was available. That’s my M.O.
 
Quick question. I’m researching a few brands as I attempt to make my wife happy (rear lounge) and satisfy myself that I get everything I expect at the time of purchase. Looking at the L model currently In the Bennington.

Having said that, my question pertains to Bennington’s pre-rigging and in particular the NMEA 2000 backbone to enable the engine to communicate with the helm. For those with electronics that report such data, does Bennington pre-rig it, or did your dealer have to add that at your request?

Thank you.
 
Dealers do the rigging .If you have questions regarding rigging, your dealer is your best source for information .
 
Well that makes sense. Think it good to bounce what I have been told by my local dealer off of others experience. So far I know they don’t hang motors. I’m sure they can and do for re-powering etc… but their product arrives pre hung. That’s different than my experiences in the bass boat world.

Thanks for your reply.
 
JL711 said:
Quick question. I’m researching a few brands as I attempt to make my wife happy (rear lounge) and satisfy myself that I get everything I expect at the time of purchase. Looking at the L model currently In the Bennington.

Having said that, my question pertains to Bennington’s pre-rigging and in particular the NMEA 2000 backbone to enable the engine to communicate with the helm. For those with electronics that report such data, does Bennington pre-rig it, or did your dealer have to add that at your request?

Thank you.
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I believe it may also help ordering a DTS? (digital throttle with compliant engine) and the Simrad, which then requires a different set of wires and cables that would then be compatible with the MNEA backbone. This may be standard wiring, but at least a detail you can ask about. Now, if you are going with an L, I do recommend the LX!
 
Ok, spoke with the service dept. He cleared it all up. Boats are pre-rigged by Bennington and the dealer does hang the motor. They Just connect what was pre-rigged from the helm to the motor. So if the NMEA network is there, they hook it up. They outsource it if you want the connectivity on a boat not ordered that way. For instance if you wanted to swap out to some NMEA ready electronics a boat didn’t originally have. Service guy gave me a nice tour under a helm to help me spot what the NMEA network looks like and where to locate it.
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
I believe it may also help ordering a DTS? (digital throttle with compliant engine) and the Simrad, which then requires a different set of wires and cables that would then be compatible with the MNEA backbone. This may be standard wiring, but at least a detail you can ask about. Now, if you are going with an L, I do recommend the LX!
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DTS not necessary, but it would be nice..

I‘ll bite. Sell me on the LX Laurence.
 
The digital throttle is sweet. You can set a speed and the throttle will maintain that and can bump speed up or down with a switch on throttle. You can set a rpm and then adjust it in 50 rpm increments either up or down. VERY easy to have a throttle burst as it’s just a potentiometer (no cable) sending the signal. We have a big engine and my wife has thrown me to the floor 3 times. I drove a buddy’s boat with old school throttle and it just sucks compared to the digital. He has driven ours and he says his sucks too, so it’s not just me.
Key to throttle is adjust friction electronically through screen and use heel of palm as a support on throttle and just use thumb for power application.
 
Timdelta said:
The digital throttle is sweet. You can set a speed and the throttle will maintain that and can bump speed up or down with a switch on throttle. You can set a rpm and then adjust it in 50 rpm increments either up or down. VERY easy to have a throttle burst as it’s just a potentiometer (no cable) sending the signal. We have a big engine and my wife has thrown me to the floor 3 times. I drove a buddy’s boat with old school throttle and it just sucks compared to the digital. He has driven ours and he says his sucks too, so it’s not just me.
Key to throttle is adjust friction electronically through screen and use heel of palm as a support on throttle and just use thumb for power application.
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Thanks, good feedback on the digital throttle. Have no experience with this animal.
 
JL711 said:
DTS not necessary, but it would be nice..

I‘ll bite. Sell me on the LX Laurence.
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Wide berth pillow top seats with cutouts, fold flat Plus lounger, Extended Motor Pod. I can't find the complete comparison I did, but all the extra's were worth it, vs the R where the upgrades I did not find that compelling (like the armrests, no helm storage panel, different lounger).
 

Attachments

  • Bennington 26LXSB Build Specs comp.pdf
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Thanks for the info Laurence, and I appreciate your attachment. Thanks for sharing your homework. Making all these comparisons certainly is a task.
 
JL711 said:
Thanks for the info Laurence, and I appreciate your attachment. Thanks for sharing your homework. Making all these comparisons certainly is a task.
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Sorry I could not find my master file - I must have spent 40 hours comparing models and visiting the stores.

This is a GREAT resource if you have not already found it:

online.flipbuilder.com

Bennington Luxury Performance Boats Catalog 2023

online.flipbuilder.com online.flipbuilder.com
 
That’s a beauty!!!! 24 should give you lots of space. I have a 23 GCW and we have to text each other bow to stern … :oops::p
 
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