IHDiesel73L
Seaman
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2010
- Messages
- 70
Over the weekend I rented a late model Bennington Pontoon similar to this one if not this exact model:
https://boat-builder.benningtonmari...aa9d29a514d5ed019?SERIES/S&MODEL/168SLDF=true
It was on one of our local 9.9 restricted lakes, a little under 2,000 acres (Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County, NJ for those who are familar). I grew up around boats but my wife has only been out a few times, and my daughters, 18 months and 4 years, had never been on boat before. They all had an absolute blast. My wife, whose biggest concern was the 18 month old hurling herself overboard, felt very at ease since the pontoon is almost like a big playpen and it was easy to manage her. We putted around the lake for a while and then found a nice place to beach, went ashore, and the girls splashed in the shallows/built sand castles, etc... As far as the boat itself, at 16' (17' - 4" LOA) proved plenty large enough for the four of us with room for one or two more. Top speed was 8 MPH, which was fine, because again, the lake is not all that big.
I wonder how a boat like this would perform with a larger trolling motor (say 75-85lb thrust) on an electric only lake? We have a lot of those here in NJ ranging from just over 100 acres to 600-800 acres. I'd love to be able to get the kids out on those lakes for some quiet cruising, fishing, and wildlife watching. Just curious if there are any others here who can provide some real-world perspective on maximum speed and battery life with such a setup? With lakes that small, speed is certainly not necessary, but I would hope that I could expect 3-4 MPH, at least in calm conditions.
https://boat-builder.benningtonmari...aa9d29a514d5ed019?SERIES/S&MODEL/168SLDF=true
It was on one of our local 9.9 restricted lakes, a little under 2,000 acres (Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County, NJ for those who are familar). I grew up around boats but my wife has only been out a few times, and my daughters, 18 months and 4 years, had never been on boat before. They all had an absolute blast. My wife, whose biggest concern was the 18 month old hurling herself overboard, felt very at ease since the pontoon is almost like a big playpen and it was easy to manage her. We putted around the lake for a while and then found a nice place to beach, went ashore, and the girls splashed in the shallows/built sand castles, etc... As far as the boat itself, at 16' (17' - 4" LOA) proved plenty large enough for the four of us with room for one or two more. Top speed was 8 MPH, which was fine, because again, the lake is not all that big.
I wonder how a boat like this would perform with a larger trolling motor (say 75-85lb thrust) on an electric only lake? We have a lot of those here in NJ ranging from just over 100 acres to 600-800 acres. I'd love to be able to get the kids out on those lakes for some quiet cruising, fishing, and wildlife watching. Just curious if there are any others here who can provide some real-world perspective on maximum speed and battery life with such a setup? With lakes that small, speed is certainly not necessary, but I would hope that I could expect 3-4 MPH, at least in calm conditions.