Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

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joe20toon
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Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#1 Post by joe20toon » Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:33 am

2016 20 foot Sylvan RPT (V Pontoons)
Yamaha Vmax SHO 115HP
80 Pound Thrust RipTide Trolling Motor
Humminbird Helix 7 Side Imaging

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brocja01
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#2 Post by brocja01 » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:51 am

What... NO CREST!!!!

Hope I didn't buy junk!

:)
2017 Crest Caliber 230 SLC
150hp Mercury 4-Stroke

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Rick McC.
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#3 Post by Rick McC. » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:53 am

[quote="brocja01"]What... NO CREST!!!!

Hope I didn't buy junk!

:)[/quote]

They're not junk.

I had two Crests in the past, and they're built hell for stout.
Rick

Sights are for the unenlightened.

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mpilot
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#4 Post by mpilot » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:21 am

I don't know if this works like publications in some other industries, but I would image those brands paid for their slots to be featured so I would take them being the best with a grain of salt. Good info on the boats though and they are usually fair in their actual tests.

Cpl0724
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#5 Post by Cpl0724 » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:59 pm

Well.... it has to be rigged if they have that Bennington QR27 10 Wide listed above my Lowe SS210!!! :biggrin2
Paul

2014 Lowe SS210 with Strakes and Underskin
2016 Mercury SeaPro 115hp 15x15 Enertia Prop
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"Big Frankie"

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Reiner
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#6 Post by Reiner » Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:09 pm

[quote="Cpl0724"]Well.... it has to be rigged if they have that Bennington QR27 10 Wide listed above my Lowe SS210!!! :biggrin2[/quote]


That's what I think too!
2015 Lowe SS 210 RFL XL Package 150 HP Merc
"The Nina" or "The Bismarck" my buddy's call it!
2011 Tundra

captain28570
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#7 Post by captain28570 » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:21 pm

They didn't mention that the Bennington's Tritoons only hold about 27 gallons of fuel. Which means you aren't going to far on fuel with a 200,250 or 300 HP. All other brands have over a 40 gallon tanks. Only way to get a bigger tank is get the Eliptical model which cost a lot more

So while all the other brands are still boating the Bennington will need fuel. That's a major flaw in their design. Limited fuel size tank.
2017 22 Manitou Aurora LE SHP Tritoon Evinrude G2 HO 150

boocat
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#8 Post by boocat » Fri Apr 14, 2017 3:23 am

SLM
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rancherlee
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#9 Post by rancherlee » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:03 am

[quote="captain28570"]They didn't mention that the Bennington's Tritoons only hold about 27 gallons of fuel. Which means you aren't going to far on fuel with a 200,250 or 300 HP. All other brands have over a 40 gallon tanks. Only way to get a bigger tank is get the Eliptical model which cost a lot more

So while all the other brands are still boating the Bennington will need fuel. That's a major flaw in their design. Limited fuel size tank.[/quote]

That's most manufactures, The "basic" tritoon or 2 3/4 toon setups usually come with only a 25-30 gallon tank, sadly. Want a bigger fuel tank, upgrade to our Uber-toon package! My old girl originally came with a pair of 6gal cans on the back, when I rebuilt it I installed 23gal tank which was awesome....... With my 70. With the 140 on the back now that 23 gallon tank still gets us through the day but limits tubing to a few hours.
1988' Kennedy 20' "Haley's Comet"
Rebuilt 2016 with 25" single strake outer tubes and a 25x23" straked U-tube
2003 Suzuki DF140 - Yamaha 9.9HT kicker - 39.1@6300rpm

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mpilot
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#10 Post by mpilot » Fri Apr 14, 2017 12:35 pm

Judging by my lake the 150hp motors seem to be the most popular on mid sized tritoons. 27 Gallons on my boat would yield a total cruise range of 113.4 miles, or just over 100 miles with the 10% buffer rule. I could cruise at 3500 rpm doing around 21mph for 5 hours straight and still have gas. I don't know many people using a pontoon like that. The more likely scenario is to poot around at around 8mph and be able to do that for 12.8 hours, or again with the 10% rule around 11 hours safely. We run our boat at minimum Friday to dinner somewhere, Saturday to the cove to anchor up, and Sunday to ride around and stop by a friends house and I rarely burn more than 15 gallons and I'm going 10+ miles up the lake at least 2 of those days.

ron nh
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#11 Post by ron nh » Fri Apr 14, 2017 2:43 pm

Bennington knows that if you're gonna spend 75k you're going to buy the elliptical anyway, Problem solved.
2015 Qwest LS 818XRE Tri-toon w/mercury 115.

Vikingstaff
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#12 Post by Vikingstaff » Wed May 17, 2017 6:43 pm

[quote="captain28570"]They didn't mention that the Bennington's Tritoons only hold about 27 gallons of fuel. Which means you aren't going to far on fuel with a 200,250 or 300 HP. All other brands have over a 40 gallon tanks. Only way to get a bigger tank is get the Eliptical model which cost a lot more

So while all the other brands are still boating the Bennington will need fuel. That's a major flaw in their design. Limited fuel size tank.[/quote]


That is only on their introductory line up - the S series. The other models all have larger and larger fuel tanks. I think that is fairly standard on many manufacturers introductory models vs. their mid and higher end models.
Vikingstaff
Houghton Lake, Michigan
Bennington 24' SSBXP

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mpilot
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#13 Post by mpilot » Wed May 17, 2017 8:38 pm

With most manufacturers we looked at you get a 40 gallon tank if you go to a full third toon even if its a lower tier model.

Scott1
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#14 Post by Scott1 » Thu May 18, 2017 1:23 am

With most manufacturers we looked at you get a 40 gallon tank if you go to a full third toon even if its a lower tier model.

I just did some boat builders and searched OEM's website and I find this to be less the case, most are upgrades.
2014 Bennington 2375 RCW with Verado 250 Pro and Simon Motorsports ECM upgrade to 325 HP
Tri Toon with ESP package

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mpilot
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Re: Some of the - Best Pontoon Boats of 2017

#15 Post by mpilot » Thu May 18, 2017 12:22 pm

[quote="Scott1"]With most manufacturers we looked at you get a 40 gallon tank if you go to a full third toon even if its a lower tier model.

I just did some boat builders and searched OEM's website and I find this to be less the case, most are upgrades.[/quote]

I looked at a few really quick...see the bold section above, the key was with a full third toon. Bennington doesn't upgrade you until you get to the ESP package from what I recall. I even included Bentley which has a higher capacity on it's 2 toon and Express Toon boats than Bennington does, but they don't offer a full third toon.

Harris, Cypress Cay, Crestliner w/ Full third toon (not express toon) - Available in all trim levels of boat even the entry level:
FULL-LENGTH CENTER TUBE: The center tube extends all the way to the motor pod to add even more strength and buoyancy, while also creating more control at the helm. Fuel capacity increases to 37-gallons with 25" diameter tubes and 59-gallons with the 27" diameter tubes.

Tahoe/Avalon w/ Wave Glider Package (full third toon) - Available on all models
45 Gallon built in fuel tank

Sweetwater/Aqua Patio/San Pan
35 Gallon in 25" Tubes

JC
45 Gallon is standard Triple Tube all trims

Manitou
44 gallons in VP package

For Argument's Sake - Bentley Pontoon (Express Toon package - don't think they offer full third toon)
32 Gallons

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