Berkshire Pontoon Feedback
 

I'm close to pulling the trigger on a Berkshire STS. I hate these kinds of posts but I would like some general feedback on Berkshire...the good, bad and the ugly!

Berkshire Pontoon
 

I borrowed a brand new one for a day last summer. It quickly became the hit of the party and everyone was on it. Certainly handles differently than my boat but I really liked it. I was surprised how well it did in the chop of Meredith Bay. I thought the changing room was very innovative and I think it had 16 cup holders :laugh: I think I'm gonna hold out for the version with the 50 inch big screen :) Sorry I'm not an owner with extensive experience with a Berkshire but my impression after a day was very good. One of the guys in our neighborhood ordered one and is getting it soon if the ice ever goes out.

We were in the process of boat shopping last week to a larger pontoon. We have a Premiere Pontoon now. We really wanted to purchase from a dealer on the big lake and they do not sell premieres. But in our opinion after a lot of research and shopping and really looking at the Berkshire, the Premiere's construction and options had it beat. Wouldn't hurt to go to Winnisquam Marine and check out a premiere. At least maybe you might see what troubles you on your boat. Good luck. And we did upgrade with a new premiere from Winnisquam and have had great service from Ryan. (tell him you talked to his customers who live on a snowmobile trail!) Hope you get it all resolved.

PS We did buy a new Premiere just this past week from Winnisquam and couldn't be more thrilled! We have 100% confidence in the service we will receive on the Big Lake! I researched all thoroughly and have confidence we made the right choice based on our experience with our current premiere and with winnisquam marine!

Try checking out Harris FloteBote
 

I can't say anything for Berkshire- but it's worth checking out Harris Flotebote. Mine is a P3 (3 pontoon) 230 Solstice with 225HP Honda outboard. I can't say anything about any dealers out here as I have no experience with them, but I think the dealer here on Winnipesaukee was in Moultonboro bay. Melvin, I think. I was talking to them in Boston, and they seem like nice folks. I bought mine from a dealer in Arizona when I was out there and brought it with me when I moved back. I almost bought a Premiere, but the Harris just had a bit more class, IMHO. Either way- I would recommend going with three pontoons, the salesman didn't have to talk me into it after we took it on the water. Good luck!

I like Berkshire pontoons. I have a hard time finding a good way to describe why tho, when you first posted I wanted to share but couldn't put it into Word in a good way, but I will give it a shot. The Berkshire pontoons IMHO are sort of like a classic pontoon, they won't be dated in a couple years, the construction is very good. I didn't not get tri toon, I am more of the it is pontoon let cruise and not make it something it is not, mind. But I do have to say every brand make some very nice tri tools, if that's what you going for.
So I for one have had a very good Berkshire experience.

Winnisquam now has a presence on Winnipesaukee. They will be selling boats out of Glendale Marine as well.

We also have a Harris Flotebote. It is a tritoon and we absolutely love it. We go every where on the lake and it handles so well. We bought it from Matt Young ( the owner) at Melvin Marina. I can't say enough about the boat and the purchase. I suggest you check it out. I also looked at the Berkshire, but I liked the quality of the Harris better.

Winnipesaukee Dealer
 

Although we do not have a physical location on lake Winnipesaukee I can tell you that we have always made sure that we take great care of our many, many Winnipesaukee customers. I can honesty say that more than half of our customers are located on the big lake. We are in and out daily at Silver Sands Motel ramp, we are working with Mark Souda at Glendale marine and we send our techs to different locations on Winnipesaukee. We have our bases covered to service you as well if not better than a dealer that is physically located on Winnipesaukee. Do not settle for a lesser boat because of our location. There are many differences with Premier and the brands that have been mentioned in this thread. We also carry Palm Beach pontoons which is owned by Premier that competes more so with the Harris, Berkshire and others. Premier has always been the premium brand and with now owning Palm Beach Pontoons it allows Premier to focus even more on doing what they do best which is build a high end pontoon. They no longer have to build entry, mid and high level pontoons out of their Premier facility, they build all high end out of that facility and 1.5 hours away Palm Beach pontoons builds the entry to upper middle end value driven pontoons. Its been the perfect mix with the 2 brands.

Ryan Crawford
Winnisquam Marine

Bennington
 

I am the proud owner of a Harris Kayot Crowne. This boat has been awesome!! Because I have owned a pontoon boat since 2002 I always enjoy looking around at the advances being made with them and the popularity they are gaining. Hands down it appears to me that The Bennington line sold at Channel Marine is far the best pontoon boats being manufactured now. They are not cheap but talk about luxury!! Check them out before you commit to anything else.

Premier
 

Bennington makes a nice pontoon boat but your definitely going to want to check out Premier. Premier has capabilities to build pontoon boat like no other manufacturer currently. If you attended the Boston Boat Show you would have seen the 32 foot Sky Dek, and 10' Wide boats that are offered by Premier. We were told by everyone that we had by far the nicest pontoons at the show. I'm biased of course because I personally took on Premier for our dealership and Bennington was one of the brands we looked at when doing so because at that time Bennington was going back and forth between Wards and Channel Marine. I know we made the right decision and Premier has been just an unbelievable boat. Premier has consistently stepped things up and continued to build higher and higher quality boats where some brands such as Bennington have their price point boats consume the majority of their production and sales.

We just like to have happy boaters out on the water with great boats just as we do with our families...

Ryan Crawford
Winnisquam Marine

Anchor Marine added four 23' Berkshire Tri-Toons to their rental fleet last year. It may be worth it to rent one for a day:

http://www.anchormarine.net/dolphin.htm

We have 3 Berkshire toons in our fleet. People really seem to enjoy them. We have 240, 220, and 210 (the 210 is my personal favorite out of all our boats)
We have had no major problems and Irwin Marine is great to deal with.

Cheers to summer! Come on Ice ooot!!



Kurt



https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBoatClub
http://americanboatclubnh.com/

We bought a Bennington 2575 RCWCP Sport last summer at Channel Marine and it was the best decision ever made for cruising the lake. Can't wait to cruise and booze. ;)

Premier vs Bennington
 

Just checked out the Premier line on their website. Sorry to say but I don't see anything that compares to the Bennington boats. Sorry just my opinion. I'm just being honest. I have been a huge lover of my Harris-Kayot and even I say Bennington's new pontoon boats look way more luxurious than anything out there!!

Everyone is going to have there own opinion on what the best pontoon boat is... or what the best boat is period. What matters is what suites you best.

I was told I was nuts when I bought a 18' boat for lake Winnipesaukee. Well 8 years later I still love the boat and there aren't many days, I don't use it.... In fact the days I don't, I wouldn't have gone out in a 30' boat either....

You have to find the boat that fits you the best, gives you the amenities that you want, and a price that fits the Wallet.

I have dealt with Winnisquam Marine in the past. And with Ryan and his Dad personally. They are great people, and do a tremendous job taking care of their clients. I have looked at several of their Premier Pontoons when I have been at or by the shop. And they are nice. I prefer sport boats, so I am not in the Market for a pontoon boat. But I believe the big point Ryan is trying to make, is come into their showroom and look at the boats. If you like them, and they have something that suite your needs, don't be afraid to buy it, because your on the big lake, and they are on Winnisquam. They do and will take care of their customers. I had issues with my boat, all the way up in Moultonborough, and Ryan father talked me though dealing with a trim problem, enough so that I could get the boat on the trailer and get it down to them. All the while re-assuring me that if I couldn't get through the issue, that we could make arrangements for them to come to me. (yes as the boat was not under any warranty, I would have had to pay, but the bottom line for me, was that they never left me in a position where I felt I didn't have support.)

And another factor to consider are the available options. Had our new premiere for 4 years and can't wait to get our new premiere (of course bigger!) in June! Agree with everything said about Winnisquam Marine. There are so many choices when selecting a premiere and the quality is there! Good luck with shopping---we spent hours on shopping and research.

Just wanted to chime in from an "observer only" point of view. Whether or not a pontoon/tritoon is in my future, I just think the 2014 BENNINGTON 2550 QCB is very cool; I love the retro look. (but definitely not the economy model!)

Berkshire Pontoon Boats
 

Two years ago, we decided to get back into boating, after a couple years without a boat. As we are both getting age challenged and after my wife's knee and hip replacement, we were having more and more difficulty climbing aboard a fiberglass hulled boat. Not knowing much about pontoon boats, and not knowing if we would even like them, we joined the American Boat club for a year. They have 3 pontoon boats, a couple 21' fiberglass boats and a 24' pocket cruiser. With that many choices, we were able to evaluate what kind of boat we would most enjoy. We used them all, enjoyed them all, but our favorites by far were the 3 Berkshire pontoon boats. Ride, handling, comfort, and above all, ease of boarding clinched it for us. As for ride, they handle the chop in the Weirs "washing machine" area better than any fiberglass boat I've ever owned or been on. In fact, these boats reintroduced us to weekend boating again, something we no longer did in our own boats because of the roughness.
I found the Berkshire boats to be well built, quality very nice. They seemed to hold up very well even in a club environment where they were heavily used by many who treated them as their own, and some others who trashed and abused them.
Personally, the only "fault" I could find is that I thought they were underpowered....for me. The biggest engine is 90HP on the 24 footer. It would get to 23MPH with me alone and a full tank of gas on a smooth lake.
Wanting more, when we decided on a new pontoon boat, I wanted a triple tube boat with a minimum of 150 HP, to be able to cruise at 25 MPH or so but with enough extra oomph to get us and go when I wanted to and to pull the kids and grandkids on a tube.
We looked at a lot of boats, didn't have any prejudices against any of the brands available at the lake. The only boat that didn't impress me in any way was the Bentley. Quality just didn't seem to compare to any of the others we looked at.
We stopped at Winnisquam Marine one day and were offered what we think was the most compelling deal of any we got at the time. We ended up with a 24' Premier PTX with a 200 HP motor and haven't regretted it since.
I don't think you can go wrong with the Premier line of Pontoons, but, I also don't think you can go wrong with a Berkshire either.
Good luck with your decision. See you on the lake.

I pulled the trigger on a 24" Berkshire 231 STS RCF. The fishing set up in the stern sold me. It's the best design I've seen for both fishing and pleasure. We also upgraded from the 90HP to the 115HP. According to the guys at Irwin I should be able to get to 30 MPH with 2-3 people on board easy. They even said maybe the mid 30's but I'm skeptical. Anyway, high 20's is all I wanted so I'm happy. I too was a member of American Boat Club last year and the way those pontoon boats held up was very impressive. As a side note I can't say enough about Irwin Marine. So far, not done yet with everything, but so far Raj and Bill Irwin have been OUTSTANDING to work with.

Berkshire
 

Good luck with your new baby. Irwin is great to deal with, I'm sure they will take good care of you for years. Enjoy and oh --- tight lines.

Congrats and have a blast...you will not regret it. Enjoy!!!

Picking up the boat tomorrow from Irwin. Gonna be COLD but that's OK, I can NOT wait to start fishing!

Congrats, you will love it!