Bennington Boats

SAMIAM · 09-17-2011, 11:47 AM

Just wondering if there are any Bennington owners out there.......how do you like your boat and service at Channel Marine?

winnipiseogee · 09-17-2011, 01:26 PM

Not sure about Bennington but Chanel sucks. Bought my Crownline from them and I was actually happy when they lost the line. Their customer service is horrible. The lost one of my seats (goodness only knows how) and for 2 years they kept promising me it was "on order" and should "be in any day now..." Thats not my only problem with them but its pretty indicative of how they treat customers.

Grandpa Redneck · 09-17-2011, 02:34 PM

When we were looking for a new Toon 2 years ago Bennington was on our short list, but didn't care for the sales Dept attitude at Channel one bit.
But we are extremely happy with our Premier and Winnisquam Marine, Matt Galvin was our salesman and he not only made the purchase painless he actually made it enjoyable! They really wanted to make sure we got what we wanted/needed not just whatever they had on the lot.
So far the service has been great as well.
The Heath clan would Highly recommend them and Premier to absolutely anyone looking for a first class Toon and a dealership that goes the extra mile.

SOB · 09-17-2011, 02:59 PM

SAMIAM, I purchased a 20 foot pontoon off of Channel a few years back. That was the only business I did with them, nothing to say about them good or bad. It was a fairly quick process.

As for the brand, they are great quality boats. I went to a boat show and checked out all the different manufacturers before I decided on Bennington. You can see the difference in the quality. The seats, the carpet, the hardware, etc. I am sure there are other brands of similar quality, but I know there are plenty of cheaper quality.

I forget the exact numbers, but they give a pretty good warranty on the deck of the boat. Worth looking into.

Let me know if you have any questions.

RLW · 09-17-2011, 04:40 PM

Bennington is just We have a 22' Bennington and just love it. We purchased the 22' so that we could get the full boat Bimini cover. We haven't needed any service to it since we bought it in 02 so cannot answer about any service to our boat. We did purchase the best carpeting and extra seat, table and all the covers including seat and the all over cover and they are just like new.

codeman671 · 09-17-2011, 08:29 PM

Look at premier or manitou.

Winnisquamguy · 09-18-2011, 07:25 AM

Not sure if you get to choose the brand of your outboard but I would recommend Honda's 4 stroke. I have had my pontoon (Starcraft) since 02 and have never had to have anything done to it besides the regular services. It is also very quiet, uses no gas, and has plenty of power. Good luck with whatever you buy.

09-17-2011, 11:47 AM	#1
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,836 Thanks: 326 Thanked 1,626 Times in 562 Posts	Bennington Boats Just wondering if there are any Bennington owners out there.......how do you like your boat and service at Channel Marine?

09-17-2011, 02:34 PM	#3
Grandpa Redneck Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: White Mountain Area NH Posts: 155 Thanks: 310 Thanked 112 Times in 59 Posts	When we were looking for a new Toon 2 years ago Bennington was on our short list, but didn't care for the sales Dept attitude at Channel one bit. But we are extremely happy with our Premier and Winnisquam Marine, Matt Galvin was our salesman and he not only made the purchase painless he actually made it enjoyable! They really wanted to make sure we got what we wanted/needed not just whatever they had on the lot. So far the service has been great as well. The Heath clan would Highly recommend them and Premier to absolutely anyone looking for a first class Toon and a dealership that goes the extra mile. __________________ Freedom Lovin' gun crazy Redneck

09-17-2011, 02:59 PM	#4
SOB Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pawtucket, RI Posts: 31 Thanks: 3 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	Pontoon SAMIAM, I purchased a 20 foot pontoon off of Channel a few years back. That was the only business I did with them, nothing to say about them good or bad. It was a fairly quick process. As for the brand, they are great quality boats. I went to a boat show and checked out all the different manufacturers before I decided on Bennington. You can see the difference in the quality. The seats, the carpet, the hardware, etc. I am sure there are other brands of similar quality, but I know there are plenty of cheaper quality. I forget the exact numbers, but they give a pretty good warranty on the deck of the boat. Worth looking into. Let me know if you have any questions.

09-17-2011, 04:40 PM	#5
RLW Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Alton Bay on the mountain by a lake Posts: 2,023 Thanks: 563 Thanked 444 Times in 311 Posts	Bennington is just We have a 22' Bennington and just love it. We purchased the 22' so that we could get the full boat Bimini cover. We haven't needed any service to it since we bought it in 02 so cannot answer about any service to our boat. We did purchase the best carpeting and extra seat, table and all the covers including seat and the all over cover and they are just like new. __________________ There is nothing better than living on Alton Mountain & our grand kids visits.

09-18-2011, 07:25 AM	#7
Winnisquamguy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Winnisquam, NH Posts: 613 Thanks: 419 Thanked 163 Times in 115 Posts	Honda Not sure if you get to choose the brand of your outboard but I would recommend Honda's 4 stroke. I have had my pontoon (Starcraft) since 02 and have never had to have anything done to it besides the regular services. It is also very quiet, uses no gas, and has plenty of power. Good luck with whatever you buy. __________________ "I'd rather be ridin than rolling"

09-17-2011, 01:26 PM	#2
winnipiseogee Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 297 Thanks: 67 Thanked 152 Times in 79 Posts	Not sure about Bennington but Chanel sucks. Bought my Crownline from them and I was actually happy when they lost the line. Their customer service is horrible. The lost one of my seats (goodness only knows how) and for 2 years they kept promising me it was "on order" and should "be in any day now..." Thats not my only problem with them but its pretty indicative of how they treat customers.

09-17-2011, 08:29 PM	#6
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,360 Thanks: 210 Thanked 764 Times in 448 Posts	Look at premier or manitou.