The History of Personal Watercraft

It’s not hard to figure out what makes personal watercraft (PWC) so popular. They’re fast, they’re agile, they’re easy to learn to ride, and they’re just plain fun! Personal watercraft have exploded in popularity in recent years, which means that more people than ever are riding them on the water. But have you ever wondered who invented them and when they got popular? Here are the details.

Development

After suffering a motorcycle crash in the 1960s, avid motorcyclist and inventor Clayton Jacobson II thought about how he could still get the same fast-paced thrills without the risk of injury. He realized that being able to fall in the water would be practically harmless, so he started making prototypes for an “aquatic motorcycle.” These prototypes attracted the interest of Bombardier Recreational Products, which released its Sea-Doo® in 1968, as a successor to its Ski-Doo® snowmobile line. However, the clunky yellow watercraft was expensive and hard to ride, so it was retired.

1980s Revival

By the 1980s, technologies had advanced in the marine world and companies that specialized in land-based powersports vehicles began to think about making their own water-based versions. The Kawasaki® JET-SKI®, the Yamaha® WaveRunner®, and BRP’s redesigned Sea-Doo® were the result of this interest, and personal watercraft soon took off as their own unique category, a blend of the best attributes of boats and powersports vehicles.

Ready to shop for a personal watercraft? Come see us at our Upper Darby, PA, location to check out our stock of new and used PWC for sale. Crossroad Powersports serves our Pennsylvania customers in and around Philadelphia, as well as those of you coming from Wilmington, DE.