Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello, coming to you from Gods Country (Bama)!

I am in the process of preparing to purchase a pontoon boat for my family. I am looking at purchasing a Bentley 243 with a 150 Merc 4 Stroke, SE package with painted rails, underskin, vinyl floor, strakes, hydraulic steering, and tandem axel trailer (no brakes).

Plan on pulling the kids on a tube; maybe let them try water skiing when they get older, cruising around, chilaxing and of course some fishing!

I have been doing some research. Can anybody give me some input on the above? Specific questions I have are: Has anyone here had issues with painted (powder coated) rails? Should I go for the anodized rails instead, even though I will never have this boat in salt water? Do I need a second battery on the boat? Should I consider bumping the 150 4 stroke up to a 200 Optimax 2 stroke? Any other suggestions?

Thank you in advance for your input…

t3ch

First I would get breaks on the trailer. Just aging with a tandem trailer and a 24 foot toon that is a lot gong down the road. Mif you are going to be trailer ink a lot. I have a 23 foot with tandem trailer and breaks. Don't trailer a lot but the times I decide to go camping and take the toon it is nice to know when going down the road that you can't stop if needed. Then if you are going to pull skiers and tubing I would get the most power the boat can handle. Getting someone up on skies is hard if you don't have the power. I also found a Porta pottie and curtain is a must if the ladies are on boad. Enjoy the toon and get a grill nothing better then being on the water all day with the family and grilling a few hot dogs and burgers.

Enjoy

Thanks for the information, I will add these to my list of options to consider.

t3ch

I too am from God's country--the Tennessee River with 650 miles of navigable water.

Your Bentley as you've spec'd out will do a great job for your family in every way. Unless you install power steering assist on Seastar hydraulic steering or unless you've got a killer sound system with subwoofers and huge amplifiers, the second battery is not required.

The 150 FourStroke Mercury engine will do a fine job for your purposes. Others report 40 mph out of such tritoons with lifting strakes, and that's sufficient. Nix the 2 stroke on a pontoon.

Anodized rails look better on a Bentley, and painted rails may have cost Bentley sales in recent years. They're the only brand with painted rails.

As far as getting brakes on the trailer, it depends on your tow vehicle and how much you're going to be towing your boat. I only tow my boat twice per year in flat terrain and no more than 25 miles. I also have a F250 diesel crewcab with AirRide bags on the rear and heavy duty everything. My boat hangs in a boathouse all year. If you live in mountainous Birmingham and tow 75 miles to the 3 big area lakes on weekends, I'd suggest getting surge brakes on the trailer.

I hope Bently has fixed that painted rail chipping problem, some ads on boat trader for used Bently's start with "like all bently's the paint is chipping on rails". I can't imagine any builder would let that continue for long. I like the look of the rails and their boats all together. sounds like a nice one.

Welcome. I'm in alabama as well. We're on Smith. I don't know about bently's specifically so i can't comment on that model. I will second the vote for a small head. Even if you don't have to use it, it gives folks comfort knowing its there and it extends the season when the water is too cold to take a "break". I'm in the 2nd battery camp. some of the places we go can be semi remote and i like never having to worry about not getting home due to a dead/old battery. personal preference. i'll also second the notion to have the most hp your transom can handle. especially for water sports. anything can pull a tube, but getting a skier out can be quite a drag (literally) with too little power.

where are you going to boat? good luck.

Welcome to the club.

Thank you for the input so far. The Bentley I am looking at does have hydraulic steering. I have reviewed some posts that speak about the painted rails chipping. I am trying to determine if this is on older models or if they still have this issue, may be better just to play it safe and get the anodized rails; however I kinda like the painted rails; still mulling this one over...

I am in NA not LA, Plan on taking her to Guntersville / Wheeler. I really like Smith, my wife and I plan to move there someday in the future, hopefully.

I just ordered a Bentley 220 Cruise SE. We opted not to get the painted rails. My husband is a journeyman sheet metal worker by trade. He said the paint will eventually chip. He said this without knowing the company had issues with this in the past.

Welcome!

My two cents on the dual battery option. I had my last boat for 7 years. It only had one battery and each and every time I started it back up on the water I wondered if it would start. Each and every time.

It's not a good feeling and my new boat on order is coming with two batteries.

Good luck to ya!

Hi from another Lewis Smith Lake boater. I keep my boat at the Duncan Bridge Marina year round because I live about 2 hrs away. Have a lot on the main lake and hope to build as soon as she finds the home plans she likes then move there permanently.

For those unfamiliar with it, Smith is said to be the 2nd cleanest lake in the US!

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Research painting aluminum boats on-line and you can see what it requires to get proper adhesion. Aluminum oxidizes quickly, making adhesion a challenge unless one has all the proper equipment and supplies and can apply the coating immediately after cleaning. You would expect a dealer would be able to do it the correct way. There are lots of painted aluminum boats so some have to be doing it right.

Sun Tracker had a beautiful Regency model at the Jan. boat show that had virtually every metal part either painted or powder coated, including the tubes. It would be a good test of the durabiiity of the coatings.

yeah, many now do, they look sweet, I've been to 4 boat shows in last 2 months seems like every builder is doing it in 2015 if not I'm sure they will next year.

Thank You for the input!

t3ch