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2009 Sea-Doo Personal Water Craft: The Good Life Just Got Better
I must say I have a very outgoing and daring personality. My top ambitions when I leave the comfort of my zen-natured home include adventure travel, performance vehicles, aggressive workouts and entertaining activities. So whether I’m based on land, air or water, I want the best of the best. So if the sky is clear, it’s 90 degrees and a body of water is nearby then please make available a Sea-Doo personal water craft (PWC) for my afternoon enjoyment.
 I became acquainted with two of Sea-Doo’s newly released models during a recent press event in Dallas, Texas. Both the comfort-luxury GTX Limited iS 255 and the sport-luxury RXT iS 255 come with a cadre of new technologies for the PWC industry as well as a boatload of fun. With 82,200 units sold in 2006 and an estimated 1.2 million registered PWCs in 2006, I see my passion is shared. The family friendly water cruisers have evolved from stand-up units, to sit downs, to three seaters and much much more. And, they are extremely safe as Coast Guard stats show that 99% are operated yearly accident free. Sea-Doo, who arrived on the scene in 1968, is the leader in sales and market share over Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. For example, they were the first to introduce the three seater PWC and the reversing system.
The PWC market is divided into four categories: recreation, sport, muscle, and luxury performance. The Sea-Doo’s fall within muscle and luxury performance and utilize new Rotax 4-Tec engines which produce up to 255-horsepower and are built to last ten years. All models are enhanced with technologies such as closed-loop cooling which uses coolant opposed to water to cool engine. This keeps salt water out of the engine block and extends maintenance intervals. Electric VTS (Variable Trim System) adjusts the angle of the pump to trim down – as it names implies – in the water. Due to D-Sea-Bel Sound Reduction, Sea-Doos are 70% quieter than they were ten years ago. They also give off less emissions than ten years ago. But we’re not done here. iControl is the nucleus of the PWC’s intelligent systems including iTC (Intelligent Throttle Control) which allows start-ups without craft lunging, iBR (Intelligent Brake & Reverse) which stops the vehicle in a 100 foot shorter distance, and iS (Intelligent Suspension) which isolates the rider’s environment from the water and adapts to all conditions on the fly (rider can adjust nine settings from firm to soft or use auto mode). iControl also includes a GPS Speedometer, Cruise Control mode, Slow Speed Mode, and a new Programmable Learning Key.
When taking both PWCs out for a spin careful attention to detail was fully honored, not to mention internalizing the technical presentation into real world scenarios. The key to safety is learning how to control the PWC’s power. The GTX, which retails for $16,499, is much more easier to control and more comfortable to ride. We would suggest this PWC for those who don’t have the need for too much speed and those that want to ride in tranquility. This is the unit I would take my daughter out on. As well, if you have any physical disabilities then I would also recommend the GTX. I have a slight shoulder soreness from my football days and found the RXT too overwhelming. The GTX also features automatic retractable speed ties, a waterproof and removable glove box organizer, adjustable mirrors, tilt steering, splash guards and of course much more. Also keep in mind when braking to use the lever smoothly. A hard brake will slow you down the fastest but you will become soaked since the jets are reversed and cause water to pour like surfer waves.
The intimidating (in a good way) $14,999 RXT is like the Porsche of PWCs. Styling is ahead of its time, acceleration is fierce and handling is phenomenal. Though, you have to know what you're doing out there. Playing around with rough waters takes a certain level of skill as I found out the wrong way. A few times I caught myself swimming for my Air Jordan slippers after being thrown off. And most times your craft will be quite some ways apart from you so being in shape doesn’t hurt either. The RXT is definitely for the daring and energetic. If I were in my college football days, then the RXT and me would go at it all day.
Other key notes to mention includes Sea-Doo’s recommendation of 92 octane but 87 can be used, to service within first ten hours of use and 100 hours for second service, and though the PWC drafts in 12” of water the company suggests three feet. You don’t want seaweed and rocks getting sucked up into the propulsion system. Ride safe and ride smart!
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