Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi all, I am looking to purchase my first tritoon and am trying to decide between three options. I'm not sure what is a good value for the money and was hoping to get a little advice. I have a family of five and plan to use it to take the kids tubing (maybe wakeboarding), fishing, and cruising around. We will bring friends along occasionally as well. I live in the Houston area, so will be using it primarily on Lake Houston, occasionally on Lake Conroe. These are the three I am considering:

1) 2014 Bennington 22SSX 22' tritoon, sport performance, 150hp Yamaha, full 3rd toon, in-floor storage, tow bar, stainless steel prop, stereo, full teak flooring, 10' Bimini, color depth finder, 7 year warranty
MSRP $48,060 (boat only)
Dealer price: $44,000 (out the door w/trailer, tax, title, license, etc)

2. 2015 Berkshire 233SL 24' tritoon, super sport, 150hp Yamaha, with upgraded trailer, in-floor storage, tow bar, stainless steel prop, led lighting everywhere, upgraded stereo and subwoofer, movable extra seat, full teak flooring, spare tire, 2nd battery, ski mirrors, privacy curtain, 12' Bimini, deluxe depth finder, 8 year warranty
MSRP: $67,700 (boat and trailer);
Dealer price: $57,300 (out the door w/trailer, tax, title, license, etc)

3. 2014 Xcursion X23RLX 24' tritoon, 150hp Yamaha, with trailer, stereo, full teak flooring, privacy curtain, double Bimini, dual battery, sink, 5 year warranty
MSRP: $58,300 (boat and trailer);
Dealer price: $44,000 (out the door w/trailer, tax, title, license, etc)

Thanks for the help!!

I would eliminate the 22' right off the bat because you have a family of 5 and will bring others. I think you will need the 24' so you won't feel so cramped. Are you in a hurry? Are these boats already on the dealers' lots or are you custom ordering? Are the prices you have given us the lowest you can get from dealers near you or online? Are you aware that the prices of the options are flexible from one dealer to another for the same boat? Have you already haggled on the pricing on all the options you want?

My best advice is to select a boat that has the floor plan you like the best and get the options that you truly will need. The only way you will know about value is if you do comparison shopping for everything you want on each boat. Get at least 3 quotes for each boat you are considering. Have each dealer give you an itemized list breaking down everything you want. Boat, trailer, tow bar, bimini, etc. Then compare the prices next to each other. That is how to learn if you are getting the best value for your money. It was an eye opener for me to learn that dealers charge different amounts for the same option from the factory. I took in 3 price quotes for the exact same boat to my local dealer and she dropped many of the prices on the options I wanted. I think you will be happier with your choice if you know you got the best deal possible.

Am I in a hurry? I would say yes and no. I was hoping to get one this week, but if that doesn't happen, a few more weeks wouldn't hurt.

These are boats that are already in the dealers lots, and these are the lowest prices I have been able to get the dealers to. I've definitely been shopping around, just am not sure if the baits are worth what the dealers are asking. I understand there is quite a mark up on boats... Thx!

The Bennington is a great fishing set up, but I think for all around use and a few more extras you get more bang for your buck with the excursion. of course if moneys no problem that Berkshire is SWEET. 3 great built boats. none of that probably helps but good luck.

I had a somewhat similar response. Bennington's got a great name. It's a lot smaller than then other two though, and the deck layout on that boat is very different from the other two you mentioned. It also doesn't seem to have the swim platform the other two do. That swim platform would be very nice with three kids on board to play off of.

If the center placed rear facing loungers are really important to you I would pay attention to that. Doubt you will really go wrong with any of them. If you can afford any of the three, get the Berkshire, or I might see about upgrading the engine on the Xcursion. The fun stuff like led lights, a fish finder, upgraded stereo, mirrors, tow bar etc can all be added gradually as you need them. The in-floor storage on the Berkshire is very nice, but you may have more than enough storage under those giant center loungers.

good point jediger, you could put a 200 on that excursion & every available option and probably be under the berkshire price.

Pegjam wrote:Am I in a hurry? I would say yes and no. I was hoping to get one this week, but if that doesn't happen, a few more weeks wouldn't hurt.

These are boats that are already in the dealers lots, and these are the lowest prices I have been able to get the dealers to. I've definitely been shopping around, just am not sure if the baits are worth what the dealers are asking. I understand there is quite a mark up on boats... Thx!

I think those dealers are just trying to move the boats off their lots. Do you need a second battery, upgraded trailer, LED lights, etc.? You may be able to get lower prices if you customize your options and have the boat built to your specifications. That is what we did and were told it would take 3 weeks until delivery which is fine because it is just getting warm down here.

I have the exchurson x23 RFC and love it. 115 Yamaha, fishfinder, rear fishing center, live tank, two fishing chairs, Rod holders, tackle center, changing room, sink with freshwater tank, tandem trailer, full cover wraparound seat. Exchurson is made by the same makers of South Bay. Very nice boat.

Your local dealer is charging too much. Call Jerry Whittle Boats up in Dallas and ask for Gary. He will be able to get you out the door in the same Berkshire SS for under $50k. That will be with everything you stated. They are the biggest Berkshire dealer I the country. I price shipped them to the dealer in Houston and they weren't even close.

You picked some great toons, it's a hard choice. For what it's worth, look at my signature, thats my choice. I've had Zero problems.

Thanks for all the advice. Hadn't really thought about the need for the swim platform... again, this is my first tritoon. Also, I was under the impression the Xcursion had a max 150hp engine?

As far as the Berkshire, it is my favorite, but can't really decide if it is worth all the extra money. It actually is from Jerry Whittle Boats in Dallas, although I wasn't talking to Gary.

Another question... so the Bennington has a full third toon, while the Berkshire and Xcursion has a 3/4 center toon. Does that matter? Does it give you more/less performance? More/less turning?

Pegjam wrote:Thanks for all the advice. Hadn't really thought about the need for the swim platform... again, this is my first tritoon. Also, I was under the impression the Xcursion had a max 150hp engine?

As far as the Berkshire, it is my favorite, but can't really decide if it is worth all the extra money. It actually is from Jerry Whittle Boats in Dallas, although I wasn't talking to Gary.

Another question... so the Bennington has a full third toon, while the Berkshire and Xcursion has a 3/4 center toon. Does that matter? Does it give you more/less performance? More/less turning?

The Bennington SPS package will bank in turns, in a similar way to the ESP, which is what I have. It will also sit flatter in the water at rest, while the Express (Bennington's 3/4 center toon package) will squat a bit, not a big deal though. At speed they're pretty much the same and both perform really well ~40mph with a 150 and clean toons. Also note that Bennington's model designations don't always reflect the true length overall. For example the 22SSX is actually 23'9". The SPS will support a little more horsepower 200 on most models, instead of 150. There are several on the Club Bennington forum with the new 4 cylinder F200 Yamaha's on the "S" model and are very happy with the performance. The 150 is really the sweet spot for 3 toon boats, balance of performance, load handling, fuel economy, and reliability. Bennington and my dealer have been great to deal with, especially when it comes to warranty and service after the sale. Good luck in your search!

Pegjam wrote:Thanks for all the advice. Hadn't really thought about the need for the swim platform... again, this is my first tritoon. Also, I was under the impression the Xcursion had a max 150hp engine?

As far as the Berkshire, it is my favorite, but can't really decide if it is worth all the extra money. It actually is from Jerry Whittle Boats in Dallas, although I wasn't talking to Gary.

Another question... so the Bennington has a full third toon, while the Berkshire and Xcursion has a 3/4 center toon. Does that matter? Does it give you more/less performance? More/less turning?

YES. That's a pretty big deal if you plan on any water sports. That also makes sense with the 150 max rating. You will not regret a full center tube and the extra performance and HP capacity that comes with it. Given this extra info, I would price an Xcursion with the Trifecta package and either a 150HP or larger.

Yah, I think Whittle is just giving you their opening offer. You could drop the extra seat, that’s $500. You can also have him give you a standard 12’ bimini across that back only and not install the wake board looking bimini. That’s another $2000 savings. Tell them him $50k is your max, take it or leave it.

If the Xcursion is a 2014 then 150 hp is max rating. For 2105 they bumped that number up to 200 hp. No haul changes, just increased factory backed rating. For that length pontoon a 150 should be pretty good though. Plus moving up to the 200 is another $3500.

I don’t think the full pontoon makes much if any difference unless you put more power behind it. A 250 hp full tritoon should be a little faster than a 250 hp ¾ tritoon. Both fitted with 150 hp and they’ll be the same. Also usually the full tritoon has a much larger fuel tank. That is extra weight that needs to be hauled around. (This is all just what I’ve been told, I have no actual experience).

I agree the SS package is awesome. It ruined us. There are so many great pontoon manufacturers out there but once we saw the SS we knew that’s what we wanted. Limits your choice to Berkshire or South Bay.

All 3 are great choices...... The Xcursion and Berkshire are both made in the same factory by Forrest Marine. We have the Berkshire 233RFX. It is the higher end line of the Forrest Marine line up. The Berkshire with the "Performance 3 Package" gives you the full length 3 tunes, with lifting strakes, in floor storage AND a 52 gallon fuel tank. We also got the dual battery set up, which has a built in battery charger system, full vinyl (fake teak) floor..... NO more carpet for us..... the pumped up stereo with sub woofer, power hydraulic steering. We went with a 200 Yamaha. The boat is capable of going up to 300 hp. We special ordered our boat in mid Sept and took delivery mid Nov. Also, caught a Yamaha special just right where they offered a full 3 year extended warranty on their motors if delivered by Nov 18...... I made sure we took delivery on Nov 16.....

Ours only has 4 hours on it, as the weather hasn't been the best in southwest VA, but we did get it out for a 90 min ride in mid Jan..... the boat WILL do bank turns Spring is coming !!!

When I priced up the closest Bennington, it was about $12k higher for the nearly identically equipped boat. The name recognition is more pronounced on the Bennington, thus likely higher resale value, but this will likely be our last boat as I expect to hang onto this one. Quality is excellent, however one thing I like better on the Bennington is that the aluminum "fencing" that holds the sides is anodized aluminum on the Bennington, after fully welding it together, where the Berkshire (and Xcursion) are anodized, then welded together, and at the joints are then painted silver. So far, everyone I've talked with says it holds up and looking at it you can't tell that it isn't all just anodized as one piece.





Let us know what you end up with.....