Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Betty and I are thinking about getting out last pontoon.

Looking at BenningtonSXP/ 22SSXAPGP
Dual Bimini

SPS Performance Package

150 Yahama

Trailer

Haven't been to dealer yet as still arguing over model and prices. She would be happy with a 9.9 and I want a 150.
Gemmie you thought on pricing. This boat with our options is $ 51,995.00(trailer not included yet)


https://boat-builder.benningtonmarine.c ... PGPDL=true

Fantastic package with SPS and 150. Bamaman has a 24' S with 150 and may be able to guide on pricing. Also, the Club Bennington forum http://club.benningtonmarine.com is a great place to pose Bennington specific questions, doesn't matter if you're an owner or buy one at all. Pricing depends on stock or not, what time of year, promotions, etc. We ordered ours in the fall for delivery in the spring, and were able to take advantage of boat show pricing and spiffs. Best of luck.

Loyd: I've got the 24SSLX which has the 48" rear facing lounge bed. Bennington's S model is as nice a boat as I care to own--or as I care to pay for. It has 16" beams on the rear of the boat, and the front half has 24" beams. It's lighter than the G, R & Q series, but I see not one bit of hull flexing in the largest of waves.

With my F150 Yamaha and a Reliance 15 pitch prop, I was seeing 40 mph @ 6000 rpms with the bimini up Sunday night. Many boats are equipped with 115 hp, but the owners are ultimately sorry they didn't go with 150 hp as they're substantially more powerful. The 150 Mercury FourStroke is another fine powerplant for tritoons--and it's priced right.

I don't have the SPS hull--but the 3/4 length Express Tube. As far as I can tell, my Express Tube is just as fast as the SPS, and it handles just fine with SeaStar steering. The best thing is the price--much less than the SPS. On the negative side, it only has a 23 gallon gas tank (enough for me) and it sits a little lower in the rear end while at a rest.

The tritoons with 150 hp is where these boats really get seaworthy. I usually cruise about 3500 rpms @ 20 mph. When you get over 4000 rpm's, you can feel a big cushion of air get under the hull and the whole boat lifts I've got the speed to do anything with the boat I need to do.

The S series Bennington is very price competitive with most other brands of boats, and the build quality is equal to that of the extremely expensive models. The difference is in the fencing and the seating. I think I paid $39K for my boat, including a MarineMaster tandem trailer. The comparable Suntracker was $42K at the time.

I'd suggest contacting all the Bennington dealers in your region and tell'em you're comparing prices. I do know that all the dealers have a Fall order writing period where the big dealers reserve production dates. And they often give them freebies if they order X number of boats at that time. Boat Shows in January are another good time to order a boat, as the factory will be giving big incentives for boats sold at the show.

Good luck to you on this one. I'm like you--down to my last boat. On the other hand, my old pontoon boat lasted 28 years. Properly cared for, these boats are a great value for the long term owner as aluminum doesn't rot.

Loyd, I have the same hull but 24 feet and the 150 yamaha. I second everything Bamaman said. My wife and I love this boat! We just spent a week in a cabin on our local lake. I took the boat out a few times early in the morning before others got on the lake and the water looked like a mirror. The way the boat just seems to fly over the water at 40mph is unbelievable! It was so smooth! And when the water gets a little rough it still just cuts right through. I also am now spoiled by the power steering. The one thing that I didn't get but wish I had was the in floor tube storage. I don't know why the dealer ordered it without it. As far as price goes, I paid $40k out the door with a Wesco galvanized trailer. It was a leftover 2015 sitting on the showroom floor back in December and they wanted it out of the way to put a 2016 there.

You might want to look at this 2017 G3 Tritoon with Yamaha 150 four stroke at Blackbeard Marine for under $37K.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bod/5726323063.html

Price does seem kinda high, I was looking at a 22.5' Premier Gemini 30" PTX with a Suzuki 175 this spring and that was priced at 42k, 45k with a galvanized trailer. Also included 13' Bimini, play pen cover, and 1/2 length "day enclosure"

Price seems a little high even for a Bennington. We bought our Cypress Cay Seabreeze 230 (made by harris in the same factory) tritoon with their performance package and Mercury 150 for a lot less than that. In fact, that was right at the msrp for ours. We upgraded to the pillow top seating with quilted inserts, added changing room, center walk through setup with dual captains chairs, upgraded stereo and interior lighting, double Bimini with full enclosure, and a bunch of other small upgrades. We also got the 8 year warranty on the motor and paid around 30% less than what you are looking at, but we ended up paying around invoice.

I've told others, and I'll repeat it here: it seems the markup is around 30% on these boats. I'd go build exactly what that boat is on the manufacturers website and take 30-35% off of that to start the negotiations.