HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

[Mike D.]

Novice boater here. This pontoon purchase will be our first (and probably last). We are on a 250 acre plus man made lake and will spend a majority of time crusing/entertaining, but I'm sure the grand kids will want to go tubing. As far as basics, I have been looking at a 22'-24' pontoon (2 tube) with at least a 115. With 15 grandkids there would possibly be 8-10 people on board at a time with swimming and maybe a little fishing thrown in. I have read many threads re: Bennington vs. (fill in the blanks) but I'm still not sure what manufacturer, length and horsepower. As with buying a car, many look good but will they hold up down the road?, is the engine large enough?, and what about re-sale? Any help along these lines (manufacturer, size, motor, 2 or 3 logs) would really be appreciated in making this decision as parctically everyone out there has a ton more experience than me. Thanks ...
Mike D.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

I would either go with Bennington or Berkshire, whichever one gives you the best deal. A 24ft toon with a 115 on it will probably hit 30 when you add 8 or 10 people on it you will probably lose 8 to 10mph.

I think you need to read the thread about cracked logs and that may help in your decision.

 

[calamus]

Re: HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

We have a bennington 22SSX tri-toon with a yamaha 150 4-stroke. Your situation sounds just like ours We have 4 adults and 8 kids on ours pulling a tube with 3 kids on that and the 150 does a good job our friends have a berkshire 22' boat 2 toons and a 115 yamaha 4 stroke. and its a nice boat but every time we go out he kicks himself for not spending the extra money and getting the 3toons and the 150. So that all I would say to get and then pick the one you like best. the nice thing about the SSX is the fishing chairs in the back and the live well great for watching the kids tubing and we use the live well as a trash can when not out fishing. plus with the 3rd toon you can get the in floor storage which if you are like us you will have life jackets for a ton of kids we store 20+ life jackets of all different sizes.

 

[cwarends]

Re: HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

For the amount of people and the activities you want to do, I would suggest a tritoon with a 150HP motor.
You can go to the motor manufacturer web sites and see the performance data for various pontoon sizes and motor combinations.
For resale value the order would be Bennington, Manitou, Berckshire.
You could look for a used pontoon as your first boat.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

Would have loved a Benny or Birk, but dealers out west are few and far between. For one of any dealer there are 3 or 4 Tracker dealers. Parts are very available, service is easy to find. We are not 'keepers', we won't have this barge in 20 years. None of the other boats lasted 4 or 5 before something bigger, better, faster came out. My advice, find a BIG dealer that has been around a while, or several dealers that are relatively close by and deal with them.

 

[randino54]

Re: HELP: Bennington, Berkshire, Manitou or ????

We have a 5 year old Manitou and we have been very pleased with the build quality. No issues with the workmanship at all. It has a 115 HP 2 stroke E-Tech; if you will be having a lot of people on your boat I would suggest a 3 toon boat with a larger engine.