10 Things to consider when buying a Pontoon Boat

Message

gmoney · #1 Post by **gmoney** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:23 am

I was considering buying a Bennington for this summer. However I went to many different manufacturers to try and compare quality. A local dealer gave this to me and I have found it very useful. I thought I would share. This made my decision easy. If you care about how the boat is actually built and who uses the best materials to build a boat then nobody comes close to the Avalon.. Bennington and Premier get a lot of hype because they advertise a ton. I went and looked at both of them and this information was true. Neither of them had numerous items that are standard on the Avalon. I also did a lot of research and many Premier dealers throughout the county have dropped the premier line because of so many warranty issues and have picked up Avalon over the Bennington line.. Flat out better boat

I am a person that I care about how a product is made. if one or two items are missing it may not be a big deal. But when a manufacturer only has 1/2 or less of 10 major items on how a boat is made. It makes me take a step back and reconsider my purchase. I sure would like to hear other opinions or even if any of you were aware of this..

Feature Manufacturers Avalon, Premier, Bennington, Sweetwater, Palm Beach, Suntracker, Harris Flotebote
1. Full Risers/M Brackets Avalon
2. Integrated Nose Cone Splash Fins Avalon, Premier X**
3. Are cross members 8 Â½ ft long Avalon
4. Uses at least 16 bolts to fasten motor pod Avalon
5. Uses Aluminum for seat frame Avalon
6. Uses 50 Gauge Vinyl to cover seats Avalon, Premier X*, Bennington X*
7. Uses double vented fuel fills Avalon, BenningtonTBD
8. Wall joints welded on all 4 sides Avalon, Premier, Bennington, Sweetwater, Harris Flotebote
9. Bow eye across three cross members Avalon, Premier, Bennington, Sweetwater
10. 5 year warranty from bow to stern Avalon, Premier, bennington, Sweetwater, Harris Flotebote
X* indicates on their higher end models only
X** indicates two piece nose cone instead of one

Information provided above is research conducted on the 2013 models.

cwarends · #2 Post by **cwarends** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:42 pm

You may want to update your list,
1. Bennington uses 1/4 thick extruded cross members which I believe are better than M members. They are 8.5 feet long.
2.Add Bennington to list.
3. Add Bennington to list
10. Bennington has 7 year warranty on all components for 2013. No other mfg offers this.

I don't have time to verify all your other claims - i'm too busy enjoying my Bennington.
Everyone selected their pontoon for personal reasons and I'm sure they also would support their chooses.

Ray Jr. · #3 Post by **Ray Jr.** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:08 am

this guys info is half assed at best, every one of his posts have been nothing but the same SPAM for avalon. I agree with BMR either he is an avalon dealer trolling for customers with half assed info or a company troll direct from avalon.

Bamaman · #4 Post by **Bamaman** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 4:01 am

An aluminum barge is what it is. There are slight differences, but they're essentially generic for the most part.

What' hasn't been mentioned is which companies have fresh and contemporary interior designs and configurations. Some companies are more conservative than others, and the interiors are such an important part of owning a top grade boat. It's all just an opinion.

Texoma Toon · #5 Post by **Texoma Toon** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 4:30 am

Sounds like a Tap fin add but spelling is better.

#6 Post by **badmoonrising** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:12 am

Ray Jr. wrote:this guys info is half assed at best, every one of his posts have been nothing but the same SPAM for avalon. I agree with BMR either he is an avalon dealer trolling for customers with half assed info or a company troll direct from avalon.

Yep. All 7 posts are about Avalon, a couple are cut and pasted into multiple threads. Hasn't been back since..

Obviously went to the Malcolm Sohm school of trolling.

#7 Post by **badmoonrising** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:13 am

Texoma Toon wrote:Sounds like a Tap fin add but spelling is better.

Yep.

rbiederwolf · #8 Post by **rbiederwolf** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:16 pm

I was just beginning to realize how smart I was in buying an Avalon, then I read all the other posts

Oh well. I will agree (as an Avalon owner) they are well made boats. To be honest I am surprised they don't get as much glory as some of the others. I personally think the Tahoe line kind of pulls the reputation down a little. However as I make this statement I know their are those who have Tahoes that love them. It just seems that when I was looking at pontoon boats, Tahoe's were always mentioned as a secondary line. Of course this was coming from the Avalon dealer......

curtiscapk · #9 Post by **curtiscapk** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:18 am

rbiederwolf wrote:I was just beginning to realize how smart I was in buying an Avalon, then I read all the other posts

Oh well. I will agree (as an Avalon owner) they are well made boats. To be honest I am surprised they don't get as much glory as some of the others. I personally think the Tahoe line kind of pulls the reputation down a little. However as I make this statement I know their are those who have Tahoes that love them. It just seems that when I was looking at pontoon boats, Tahoe's were always mentioned as a secondary line. Of course this was coming from the Avalon dealer......

Nothing against Avalon Rick..

It was his delivery just basically telling everyone if they don't have an Avalon then they ain't got a toon!! It is great to be excited but he posted they same thing in 4 different post......

#10 Post by **HandymanHerb** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:15 am

YEP everyone is got the best toon for them, you don't trash someone elses boat

Mosnowman · #11 Post by **Mosnowman** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:09 am

Anyone want my crappy 2012 Harris Flotebote? I feel so ashamed.....

Texoma Toon · #12 Post by **Texoma Toon** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:54 am

lakerunner · #13 Post by **lakerunner** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:59 am

About 8 years ago on the other forum we had a jerk come on and basically tell us if we didn't have what he had we were crazy and might as well have bought our boats from K Mart.
It became the norm for us low end tooners as they call us to say we had a K Mart toon

#14 Post by **HandymanHerb** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:06 pm

Ahh the good ole days

seems like only yesterday since we told Brady to shove it

gmoney · #15 Post by **gmoney** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:24 pm

cwarends wrote:You may want to update your list,
1. Bennington uses 1/4 thick extruded cross members which I believe are better than M members. They are 8.5 feet long.
2.Add Bennington to list.
3. Add Bennington to list
10. Bennington has 7 year warranty on all components for 2013. No other mfg offers this.

I don't have time to verify all your other claims - i'm too busy enjoying my Bennington.
Everyone selected their pontoon for personal reasons and I'm sure they also would support their chooses.

I just went and looked at the bennington and their cross members are 1 1/2' short on each side making them 3" short each cross member from 8 1/2 ' long

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