Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey all,

I have been looking into the Bennington as a possible new boat. Do any of you all have one with the 32" elliptical toons with lifting strakes? What I have found is owners of Bennington's with the ESP package really like it and will say so. The Wife and I are transient boat campers and don't carve up the lake towing wake boarders or skiers. So there is that. Also, wow that ESP comes at a cost premium.

So if you have the elliptical toons with strakes what outboard size are you running? 4 stroke or 2? What is the boat series and length?

I have to say that when looking at the maintenance cost on the 4 strokes I am leaning towards the 2 such as the E-tecs. So you know, I am looking for a used OB but it has to me new enough so I can 'plug and go' in regard to instruments and rigging.

Thanks

Go here http://club.benningtonmarine.com/ and you'll find all you're answers. Nice bunch and it's all Bennington.

I just got off the lake tonight after watching a major sunset from my Bennington 24SSLX 1/2 mile out in the Tennessee River. I was thinking how special the boat is, and how fortunate we are to live on such a great waterway.

The ESP hulls are a triton with the middle toon being a 32" elliptical/oval toon. It's high performance worthy of a 250 hp motor--and at a hefty price tag. They also have boats with twin elliptical toons with lifting strakes, and it's their fastest hull--best equipped with 115 hp to 200hp 4 stroke motors. They have a new Sport Performance tritoon available that's built for 200 hp or less--three 25" toons.

A very popular hull at a fair price is Bennington's Express Performance package with a straked 3/4 length middle toon--with 115 hp or 150 hp. My Express hull with a Yamaha F150 is as fast as the Sport Performance tritoon @ 40 mph and 6000 rpm's. And the price is much less than the SPS and a little less than the ellipticals. Some 24' boats have long front recliners that could be used as a bed, and a factory full or half canopy is available. I prefer the 24' hulls with the extended rear deck, but would also be happy with a 22'er.

I much prefer the 150 motors over the 115 hp, as they just perform so much better. Manitou is the only pontoon maker pushing ETEC 2 strokes--as 4 strokes are the preferred motors. ETEC's sound good on paper, but very, very few pontoon boats are equipped with them or any other 2 stroke motor.

Bennington is the largest buyer of Yamaha outboards, and they get fleet prices on them. A simple oil change and lower unit grease change is about all the maintenance there is--at a yearly cost of $30 in supplies and 30 minutes time. I strongly suggest you go with a new motor, as pontoons/tritoons have a long, long lifespan. My last pontoon lasted 28 years.

I understand there are some fine Bennington dealers in Michigan.

Discovery, I have a 2010 2275RLI with center elliptical. Mostly it is just the wife and I and our dog. Have never pulled anyone. We have had a group a few times and it rides very well with many or few people. When we got it we bought it off the lot so we did not order it. If I was to do it over and ordered one I would probably go with the three round toons to save a few bucks. Mine could handle up to a 250 but mine came with a 150 Yamaha. Top speed is about 40, but we usually cruise around 20 or sometimes even a little less. I could have had it outfitted with the bigger motor or even I considered at the time either a 200 or 225? but the cost jumped up 5K and I would only gain about 3 or 4 MPH. Not worth that to me. Mine is kept in a slip so I do not do my maintenance. I get a fall special and have them winterize the boat which includes filters, oil,lower end grease and a host of other small things. They do this after Thanksgiving. Runs just under 300.00 and then I take the battery home and put it on a tender for the winter. Overall the boat has been great and my dealer and Bennington have done me well. I had an issue with the cover when I first got it. (Was way to tight) the firtss told me that I had to put it on a special way or order. Back front then sides. This is not possible in my slip. They took my cover and had some extra fabric sewn in but I thought it looked stupid. They ended up getting a brand new cover (newer type and nicer) from Benny and installed the snaps and fitted to my boat at no charge. Very happy. Hope that helps you some. Good Luck in your shopping! Bill

As you can see by my signature, I have a Benni, which we love. Be aware of something regarding LOA of a pontoon. If it has an outboard, the extra length of the OB is not figured in length overall. This oversight resulted in having to have an additional 4' of slip space added to the dock.
I just had the oil changed as well as the impeller (first time on the impeller since getting the toon in 2011), even though it was still in good shape. Marina guy said it probably would have gone another year, but I like to try and stay ahead of the maintenance curve if possible. He said the lower unit grease did not need to be changed. Oil change interval is now 100 hours. Based on average usage so far, that will happen in two years.
Everyone who rides on our boat remarks about the quietness of the Yammy OB. One gal even asked if the motor was even running as I was backing away from the slip where we had picked her up. They love the ride, even in rough water, which can be the norm here at Lake of the Ozarks on busy weekends, especially holidays.
The Admiral did express some disappointment in top end because our 4 Winns open bow could get up to 53 mph, but when I inquired at the dealer about either upgrading the motor (the boat is placarded for up to 350 hp) or trading boats, she saw the cost and figured we could live with a boat that gets 41 mph (gps).
There is a little learning curve with the lifting strakes when coming into a slip or maneuvering in close quarters: unlike a vhull, the lifting strakes keep the logs up and the boat has a tendency to still go forward after you chop the power. That and the digital throttle take a bit of getting used to if you've had a throttle where you had to engage a "clutch" to go from forward to reverse and vice-versa.

I'm not a Bennington owner so I hope you don't mind me chiming in. It was the Bennington ESP hull that made me go from "I'll never want a pontoon" to "I really want a pontoon!". One 10 minute ride and I was hooked! It just so happened that I found a deal I could not pass up on my South Bay. If not for that, a Bennington with ESP would be in my garage. One thing I have not seen mentioned so far is the way the ESP banks in a turn. It felt a lot like a v-hull as far as handling goes, but as comfortable as pontoon. I am so impressed by the ESP and way it handles in a turn. It may not factor in to your decision, but I thought I would throw that out there.

I test drove a 22 Benningtonn with an ESP hull and a 150 Merc, and power assisted steering. It was a sweet handling boat.

Thanks for the input all.

cwag911 - I have been on the Bennington forum. Good info there but still had to run it by the folks here. The Bennington forum didn't really cover the twin elliptical logs enough I felt, or I just didn't get a complete search result.

Bamaman -I appreciate the information on the Express Performance package. I will have to look but the third toon should give me the option for some in floor storage and the package is less than the elliptical logs...definitely something to consider.

I also like that I can put the galley on the end of the seating rather than behind the helm on the Benningtons. I am still leaning towards a used OB just because of cost. I still have a lot of research to do on this matter but the savings is huge. A little risk/cost analysis is in order. That is what winter is for.

Again, thank all. Your responses confirm that my choice to join this forum was the correct thing to do.