Gaaaaaah! Should buying a boat be this hard?

[lakerunner]

If he has all your money up front you have nothing to fight with and he can take his time on delivery.

[SamF]

Well I am new here but loving this place already. You folks are great!

Wish I could afford a boat that would warrant $10,000 in savings! We are shopping in a much different category I am afraid.

We liked the Bennington 20SL.

We were looking for a 20 ft. leisure boat - something comfortable just to putter around the ICW here in Florida, look at the wildlife, take my elderly mom with dementia out for a cruise while she still can. No watersports - nothing fast, no fishing either. Just some sunset cruises with a glass of champagne. So something with 50HP is fine. Changing room is a must - also prefer 25" logs. 22 ft would be acceptable if it was in our budget but we are trying to save a dime or two where we can.

We would have been happy to give the dealer a 10% deposit to rig the boat but there is no way we are paying in full up front. That was just the icing on the cake.

Our budget is under $25K. We need a trailer with that. We also need a lift rack for the in/out marina but we can probably build that or rob a bank to buy one.

Would love to get as much boat as we can for our money (well, duh). Would be happy to think about another brand but Pam reported a few posts back that she is not having much luck with Manitou and Avalon here in FL either. Maybe we just need to wait until the Ft. Lauderdale boat show - but that's not til October. And honestly, with my mom's condition I don't want to wait too long to do anything.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Sam

[Bamaman]

You didn't say where you live, so I'll keep this search simple. I don't know which dealer you've been dealing with.

Bennington's South Florida dealer base is pretty small. SE FL market has one dealer in Pompano, Melbourne and Ft. Pierce, but he's very large.

There's a dealer in Port Charlotte/Ft. Myers, and he has exactly what you're wanting--Ingman Marine (877) 719-3062.

Gerry's Marine in New Smyrna Beach (888-658-9238) has a 20 SL with a 40 Yamaha listed on Boattrader.com @ $19,995 (without trailer). See if he's willing to hang a swap for a larger motor. (Many Bennington dealers' don't want to swap motors because they got the motor in package deals with the boat.)

Most people on this website would suggest a Yamaha 70 hp motor over 50 hp, as the larger motors make the boat much more seaworthy.

You're looking on the lower end of Benningtons. There are many, many other brands of boats that would also fit your wish list. If one of the above dealers is not willing to deal, I would suggest you wait until the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Prices are the lowest when numerous dealers get under one roof.

Good luck!

[BobG]

Wish I could afford a boat that would warrant $10,000 in savings!

Our budget is under $25K.

You're not that far off.
I paid $30K instead of $40K.

The dealer in MN has 22 foot Tahoes for around $11k, add $5k for a 90HP Merc, and throw in a trailer, and you're well under budget for a new pontoon. Adding that third toon, upgrading to a 115 HP and adding the full camper is most of the difference between what you want, and what I have.

[SamF]

Thanks for the recommendations. I had already talked to a couple of dealers. The search continues.

There is a boat show in Daytona at the end of August which may be the next step.

As for 50 vs. 70 hp - what do you mean by "more seaworthy"? We really only want to putter but we do want to be able to get out of our own way. Someone at a dealer said that the 70 will only add 3mph.

Thanks again for any advice!

Sam

[lakerunner]

When running form a storm with a lot of friends 3 mph is a lot

[Bamaman]

With more horsepower, you don't have to run the boat at full throttle to get where you're going. You can run the boat at lower rpm's with a higher pitch prop and get the same speed. The boat will run much quieter with the larger motor. You might also save gas.

The 50-60-70's all are often the same basic motor, but tuned differently. I cannot remember anyone on this forum that ever said they're sorry for buying the larger motor.

Once you get into pontooning, you might want to cruise a little faster than "puttin' around." I'm no speed demon, but I find myself cruising @ 22-25 mph usually.