Jet Ski and Sea Doo are two brand names that have become generic names for stand-up and sit-down personal water craft (PWC) respectively. But just like any other story, these two have their own stories which are closely related to each other. As you are familiar with the names today, Jet Ski is manufactured by Kawasaki while Sea Doo is manufactured by Bombardier.

Here is the brief story:

During the mid-60's, Bombardier started a project that would create and market a personal water craft. The company lunched its first sit-down model in 1968 with the name Sea-Doo. During that time, the company already had an established market on the snowmobiles. Here, the name Sea-Doo is an altered version of the Ski-Doo (Bombardier's brand for snowmobiles). Unfortunately, the company has pooled out the Sea-Doo from the market in 1970 just before the new line of Sea-Doo will be released.

This was because there are several problems on the design for the water craft that could not be answered during that time. Technology was insufficient then and to solve the problem means spending a lot of money and engineering, which Bombardier could not afford since the Ski-Doo was so hot in the market.

Meanwhile, as Bombardier discontinued the Ski-Doo, Kawasaki become very aggressive in developing this personal water craft.

On the early part of the 70's Clayton Jacobson II, the man who gave a lot of inspiration to the Bombardier in term of design and personal water craft specifications, sold the rights to his patent to Kawasaki. This deal gave birth to the Jet Ski.

The Kawasaki Jet Ski was released with a little promise and gave only several hundred sold units. However, in the 80's, the Jet Ski sales skyrocketed and sold several thousands. Here, the name "Jet Ski" has become the generic name for stand-up personal water craft.

The Bombardier had responded with the rebirth of the Sea-Doo. It did not intend to capture the market of the Jet Ski. Instead, Sea-Doo created a personal water craft that could be used by anyone (since they thought that the Jet Ski was only for athletic people). Bombardier had created Sea-Doo as a sit-down personal water craft. The design of the second generation of Sea-Doo may not be very different from its predecessor but it has already overcome their original problems.

Today, Sea-Doo and Jet Ski are two major manufacturers of personal water crafts and have eared the name on their own.



By: Low Jeremy

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Yamaha's venture to the marine water craft began as early as the 60's but the company's production of the personal water crafts came in later, in 1986. There are several reasons why Yamaha decided to produce PVC. One of them was the increasing interest of the public with Kawasaki's Jet Ski and Bombardier's Sea-Doo. (The names Jet Ski and Sea-Doo have become the generic terms for stand-up and sit-down personal water craft respectively.) The sales of the two brands kept on rising that prompted the entry of the WaveRunner into the marine recreation picture.

The very first Yamaha PVC at the same time the very first sit-down PVC was the WaveRunner 500 or the Marine Jet 500T. Although the Sea-Doo first released the sit-downs, the WaveRunner set today's sit-down market.

A year later, the WaveRunner was shortly replaced with the name WaveJammer 500 or the Marine Jet 500S. This model was considered as the world's first solo riding sit-down PWC. Same with the WaveRunner 500, the WavaJammer was very agile with its combination of small hull and fixed steering column.

The sit-down model was still very popular during the 90's and resulted to the introduction of the WaveRunner III 650 or the Marine Jet 650TL. This model was given the recognition as the world's first PVC that was designed for 3 passengers. It featured high-performance engine, great stability, speed, and a larger hull. This model became the parent of the later Yamaha WaveRunner models as the demands for larger PVC's increased over the years.

Before the introduction of another WaveRunner (except for the WaverRunner VX650 in 1992) came several other Yamaha PVC's. These include Super Jet 650 stand-up (jet ski), WaveBlaster 700 that rode like a motorcycle, WaveRaider 700, WaveVenture 700 with a 3-seater capacity, and the WaveBlaster II with a very powerful 760cc engine.

In 1997 came the WaveRunner GP 1200 with one of the most powerful engines in the market. From hereon, the power, size, style, and features become the priority of Yamaha. More models with these characteristics came out. The WaveRunner XL 1200 came a year after. In 1999 two models, the WaveRunner SUV 1200 and WaveRunner XL 1200 Ltd was released.

In 2000, the Yamaha PVC, the WaveRunner GP 1200R, has 155 hp engine with amazing body design. It was followed by the WaveRunner XLT 1200, WaveRunner FX140, WaveRunner GP 1300R with 1200cc engine, WaveRunner FX Cruiser High Output higher performance 4-stroke engines, WaveRunner VX Deluxe, WaveRunner FX Cruiser High Output, and WaveRunner VX 700. All these models are performance driven, stylish and most of all, very affordable.



By: Low Jeremy

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The story of Jet Ski began when Clayton Jacobson II, the known inventor of the original personal water craft, sold the rights to his patent to Kawasaki.

The company began developing this personal water craft and in 1973, came the launch of their WSAA and WSAB models. These 2 are known to be the world's first Jet Skis. They were produced on a limited basis, powered by 2-stroke twin-cylinder engines. The WSAA was distinguished by a flat haul while the WSAB had a V-type hull.

The year 1976 brought Kawasaki to mass-produce their Jet Ski. This year gave birth to the JS400 (JS400-A) model. When the racers and water sport enthusiasts demanded for power, Kawasaki responded and gave them the JS440 (JS440-A). This model was one of the longest-selling Jet Skis made.

In the 80's, Jet Ski was more powerful with additional features. This era brought the JS550. It was the first Jet Ski model to come out with revised high-capacity mixed-flow pump that gave it more power for people who wanted to have more than the usual thrill. The JS550 had 531 cm3 2-stroke Twin. Feature included the automatic rpm control.

The 80's also gave birth to the JS300 (1986) that was hailed to be the beginner's Jet Ski, 650SX (1987) powered by a 635 cm3 2-stroke Twin, 300SX (1987) with 294 cm3 reed-valve Single with CD ignition, and the very first Kawasaki Jet Ski sit-down water craft, the two-seater Tandem Sport

By: Low Jeremy

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