“You can’t run that thing on Lake Erie, can you?!?!?”
We hear this all the time, and honestly…we felt the same at one time! It took Tom Cooper from Bennington to bring a Tritoon to us and take us to Kelly’s island for lunch before we bought into this idea. He told us he was taking us to Kellys Island on a day that was blowing 15-20mph out of the northwest and sadly, we actually laughed in his face! Little did we know that we were about to be dazzled by this boat. After he took us across 2-3 fters at 50 MPH, across the Paladino ferry wake, and did figure 8’s we were shocked to say the least! We then ordered a few boats and ran one in particular for a summer and were SOLD 100%!
That was a short 4 years ago, and we now know that these Tritoons are in a league of their own and can take Lake Erie better than most fiberglass boats! There are several features to consider when looking at tritoons:
1- Build quality
2- Do they run “bow high” or flat?
3- Does the boat have all the rough water options?
4- Are the tube parts reinforced?
5- Is there a wave tamer to the bow?
6- What size are the tubes?
7- Market share of the brand?
8- What kind of warranty does the boat have? Any exclusions? Is it listed for viewing?
9- How are the tubes connected to the deck? Bolted? Height of the brackets?
http://www.benningtonmarine.com/images/warranty/BENNINGTON7YRWarrantyStatement2014Rev1.pdf
http://www.benningtonmarine.com/About-Bennington-Marine.php?content=warranty
The above are all questions you need to ask so you can ensure you get the right boat for you. These boats generally have a ton of options and can be very difficult to build and understand. Out of all the boats I have ever sold, these are the ones that you really need to talk to a professional about! Otherwise, you may end up with a less than stellar experience.
Notice the amount of bow rise! The Tubes are way out of the water. This is the most important feature you can have on Lake Erie!

We have Tritoons in the water nearly all the time for demo rides as we have one in our Carefree Boat Club and our rental program. If you are considering one of these, set up a time for us to take you for a ride on one. You will not believe what you experience…I promise you that. For those that haven’t seen our videos, check out the below videos.
Bennington 24SSLDX with SPS 150 Tritoon package and 150 Yamaha
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5LzYD7J1BQ&w=560&h=315]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8QT1ClwyMQ&w=420&h=315]
Bennington 2575 RCWCP with Mercury 250HP Verado
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr9_xoeH3ww&w=560&h=315]
If you have any questions about these, please let us know. These do have limits, but from 2-4 fters these will outperform most other boats! We will have a Bennington 2375 RCW at the CIC boat show for demo opportunities May 1st-3rd…let us take you out! If you are a customer that has a tritoon, post in the comments what your experience has been on rough water. We would love to chat about it!
http://catawbaislandboatshow.com/
Until next time….
See you on the water,