BENNINGTON

23LSB

Bennington lets handsome upholstery make the first impression for its new L series line. The horizontal diamond-press treatment was executed on our test boat in graphite with Rosa Red accent panels in Simtex, a vinyl material with a slight fabriclike texture that keeps it cool to the touch. Side panels in Rosa Red and Smokey Granite contrast nicely with the optional Blackout Luxe Edition ($3,594; black finish on rails, deck trim and skirt, Bimini frame and boarding ladder). New this year is a choice of standard crimped side panels, or optional smooth side panels for no charge. A manual Bimini top comes standard.

In typical Bennington fashion, there is clever design behind the fancy upholstery. For example, the toe kick below the seat bases creates a few extra inches of deck space, while a lumbar pocket in the bench seats— an open space between the seatback and bottom cushion—makes it easier to lift the bottom to reach stowage, and provides an inwale for drink holders, fastcharge USB ports, speakers and small sundries.

This layout features curved L-seats forward, another L-seat to port, and the 6-foot-4-inch-wide fiveway Swingback aft lounge with pivoting backrest plus adjustable lounge cushions. An optional stainless-steel aft keeper rail ($880) makes it legal to sit on the lounge facing aft while underway. Adjacent to the lounge, our boat had an optional remote ($420) for the upgraded Rockford Fosgate PMX-2 audio system ($330). At the helm, an optional Simrad

GO7 multifunction display ($1,644) replaced the standard analog gauge package.

The 23LSB’s optional Sport Performance System Plus (SPS+) package ($7,663) includes three 25-inch tubes, with lifting strakes on the center tube and performance foils inboard on the outer tubes. When combined with SeaStar power steering, SPS+ bumps the boat’s horsepower rating to 250. Bennington says its new strake design provides more lift, and we were impressed with this boat’s smooth ride and handling; it carves turns like a runabout.