The first personal watercraft prototypes were developed in the early 1950s in Europe by motorcycle companies looking to expand their market from the road to the water. The so-called “Water Scooters“ such as the British 200cc propellor-driven Vincent Amanda or the German Wave Roller, failed to gain popularity in those early markets and were discontinued.

In the 1960s, the Australian Clayton Jacobson, who lived in the now Jetski Capital of the World, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA, changed the PWC world forever. Originally a motocross enthusiast, Jacobson quit his job in banking to develop his first concept, which presented the revolutionary design of an internal jet pump instead of an outboard engine.

Jacobson sold his concept to the Canadian snowmobile manufacturer Bombardier in 1965, who started the first ever production PWC, the 320cc 2-stroke Rotax powered SeaDoo.

However, from its presentation in 1968, Bombardier failed to create an appealing watercraft and the SeaDoo was not very popular. Bombardier left the business before 1970.

In 1970, with a patent in hand, Jacobson turned to the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki to pitch his idea and got a warm response, leading to the production of the first Kawasaki PWC, the JET SKI. In 1972 the first Jet Ski was produced and reached the US market in 1973. With the benefit of Kawasaki’s marketing, the Jet Ski won a loyal audience and became more and more popular.

As the years went on, the PWC industry expanded and so did the competition between the manufacturers such as Kawasaki (JetSki), Bombardier (SeaDoo), Yamaha (WaveRunner), Honda (AquaTrax), Polaris (Sealion) and Arctic Cat (Tigershark). As of 2010, the major manufacturers of PWCs were Kawasaki, Bombardier and Yamaha.

The word Jetski is often used generically to refer to any type of PWC but strictly taken it only refers to the Kawasaki watercrafts. However, since Jetski is the globally most used reference for any personal watercraft, we shall use the word Jetski in this article to replace the personal watercraft.

So now, let’s check out how the Jetski industry has developed over the years and how the most iconic and game changing models influenced the Jetski world forever.

EARLY DAYS

After Bombardier’s failure to enter and create a PWC market and Jacobson’s move to Kawasaki, the very first popular mass production watercraft entered the market in 1973. Quite surprisingly and heavily criticized, the launch of the first model was a stand-up Jetski, the JS400. Powered by a 2-stroke 2 cylinder 400cc engine, the JS400 opened the door to a whole new market and industry. It quickly became a popular machine among racers and slipped into the hearts of the world’s fun seekers.

After a few years in production, and rider skills developments, the market demands for more power lead to the development of the JS440 in 1976, an upgraded version of the popular JS400.

The enhanced performance made the JS440 become one of Kawasaki’s longest selling models enjoyed equally by fun-lovers and racers.

The last and most upgraded version of the JS series is the

1982 JS550, the first model to feature advanced technology including automatic RPM control to prevent over-revving to protect the engine.

For the past 13 years there has been a growing and evolving interest in the industry. However, despite from the requirement of being the financial situation to purchase a Jetski, the riders had to be quite skillful to handle and control the stand-up models.

In 1986 Kawasaki addressed this issue in order to reach an even

bigger clientele and presented the first production sit-down Jetski, the X2. Even though the X2 was a very popular ski with its 635cc 2-stroke 52hp engine, it wasn’t exactly the

solution for the non skilled riders.

Kawasaki advertised the ski as a 2-passenger model to finally share the fun with friends and family, however, the community wasn’t quite convinced of its sit-down and sharing capabilities. It was also the first ski that received a water-jacketed exhaust system to lower noise levels. Its great agility and motocross-like handling made it extremely popular and it created a new race category, which still exists today, the Sport Class.

The X2 is still very popular for 2-stroke enthusiasts and vintage racers.

But the X2 was not the only newcomer that year. 1986 will remain an iconic year as it is the beginning of a legendary and ongoing battle as Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. decided to enter the industry.

Since Yamaha had been steadily accumulating technological expertise in the areas of boat design and construction since 1960, the method adopted for the design and manufacturing process was

a repetition of their common steps: prototype creation, trials and verification.

While observing Kawasaki’s moves for some time, Yamaha made the smartest possible move when entering the industry; Yamaha did not try to compete with Kawasaki on the stand-up market but immediately launched a ski that the entire community was waiting for. In 1986 at the Chicago Boat Show, Yamaha presented the WaveRunner 500 Marine Jet.

In Yamaha’s own words the WR500 is “a craft offering accessible fun on the water for all“, which is exactly what the market desired, a Jetski for everyone, easy to control from a sitting position with excellent maneuverability and proper tandem riding capability.

With the WR500, Yamaha built the basis for today’s Jetski market and made Jet-skiing a sport for everyone. It widened the market and community and is seen as the beginning of the true split between fun riders and riders that wanted to race.

After the huge impact of the Waverunner, Kawasaki decided in 1987 to come up with a completely redesigned stand-up ski, which will be the basis for a 16 years long legacy in stand-up racing, the SX650.

Not only did the SX650 have a completely new Hull design but also the 635cc engine which has been proven to be strong in the X2.

“The ultimate solo performance“ was the catch phrase used by Kawasaki when this high-powered ski hit the market.

It was the beginning of the V-shaped hulls, which increased stability and high-speed maneuvering.

After a very successful year, Yamaha introduced yet again a new model, the WaveJammer 500. It debuted as the world’s first sit-down type solo riding Jetski. The combination of a fixed steering column and a small hull, made this an extremely agile model. This concept built the basis for one of the greatest skis ever made, the WaveBlaster.

However, the design of the WaveJammer is highly disputed. It represents the willingness of the industry to experiment.

In 1988 the industry witnessed a very significant comeback, after nearly 20 years Bombardier reentered the market with the SeaDoo SD580, which was quickly upgraded by the SP587.

Just like back in the 1960s, the new SeaDoo models were powered by Rotax engines. Bombardier remains until today the only production ski manufacturer that does not build its own engines.

After seeing Yamaha and Bombardier launching proper and popular 2-seater sit-down skis, Kawasaki responded in 1989 with their first true sit-down 2-seater Jetski, the Tandem Sport TS650. Its design

differed from the competition as it featured a Scooter-like seat position but was nonetheless quite popular. After having several models that were successful in race classes, Kawasaki

chose to present a pure comfort ski instead of a racing sit-down model.

In 1990 SeaDoo started production of their first 3-passenger model branded GT.

While SeaDoo advertised this model as a 3-passenger ski, that claim was a bit of a stretch as it took delicate balance for three passengers to stay on the ski.

Furthermore, the ski had terrible turning characteristics as the bottom deck was poorly designed.

Again, Yamaha responded to a poor attempt of the competition by launching the WaveRunner lll 650. It was the world’s first proper 3-passenger Jetski with a larger hull an high performance engine. With truly pleasurable running performance and great stability, it started a new rage and became the predecessor of the later family models.

Furthermore, in 1990 Yamaha made itself presence in the stand-up model category and introduced the first model of one of the by far most iconic series ever known, the SuperJet. The SuperJet is until today the most produced series of stand-up Jetski ever and still exists today without a year of production break. The great balance of this wide bodied model quickly spread the SuperJet name around the world. The, compared to the Kawasaki stand-up models, easier to ride Superjets, made stand-up skiing accessible to more people. However, since the Kawasakis have been developped for 13 years, the SuperJet had a hard time following them on the track.

Another legendary series that started in 1991 is the Seadoo XP. It was introduced as an upgrade to the SP 2-passenger.

The XP model will continue to see upgrades over the next 13 years as the flagship performance model until the RXP is introduced in 2004.

Another innovative watercraft that came out in 1991 was the Kawasaki SC 650. Side-by-side seating, a 3-position steering wheel

and the first Jetski reverse system made it extremely easy to maneuver and operate. However, it was seen as a joke ski by the community rather than a serious Jetski.

It quickly received the name “the couch“.

In 1992, after seeing Kawasaki building skis for the comfort, Yamaha released the WaveRunner VXR650. It was introduced as the deluxe model of Yamaha’s tandem series. The VX series is one of Yamaha’s longest lasting series and still exists today.

The same year, Kawasaki entered into the sit-down racing world by coming up with a brand new model, the X-4. An all-new twin-cylinder 750cc engine with the biggest carburetor size of its time, 40mm, gave the 2-seater a massive spread of responsive power.

The X-4 was Kawasaki’s first high-performance runabout (sit-down ski) and was a popular choice among racers in the early days of the runabout class.

Racers and performance riders always want more power, and Kawasaki happily obliged with the mighty 750SX.

This high-performance stand-up model featured the same all-new engine as the X-4.

Its power was unmatched in the stand-up class and it won many championships. It was a great basis for tuners to build high performance skis.

In 1993, one of the most legendary Jetskis was born. The Yamaha WaveBlaster.

It was the world’s first single seater Jetski. With a motorcycle-like ride that let riders enjoy sharply banked turns, combined with its powerful single carb 701cc engine, the WaveBlaster won the hearts of sports-minded riders.

It dominated the sports class and its famous 701cc engine was the basis for Yamaha’s longest production engine after an upgrade in 1996. The WaveBlaster is an highly modifiable ski and still has many devoted fans today.

This model has become so popular and rare that people are often spending the same or higher price for them as the retail price back in the days.

In 1994, Kawasaki joined the 3-seater club with the ST750. It was known for its, back then, biggest fuel tank in the industry. It quickly became a popular family ski.

After seeing Kawasaki’s race inspired X-4, Yamaha decided to build the most aggressiv race ski at the time, the WaveRaider 700.

It created a new era of speed racing and it made the V shaped bottom deck hulls standard and it forms the basis for new later coming World Champion ski.

The same year Yamaha came up with its second version of a stand-up ski, the FX-1. It was was the basis for the shortly after released SuperJet.

1995 was one of the most revolutionary years in the Jetski industry. After having developed various models over the years, increasing in size and weight, the 2 cylinder engines, even tough very powerful for the time, became too small. In their ongoing battle, Kawasaki and Yamaha both came up with the world’s first triple cylinder engines.

The ZXI 900 was Kawasaki’s first 3 cylinders ski. The combination of reed valve induction and three separate carburetors delivered

both highly responsive power at low rpm and screaming high-rpm performance on top.

In addition to the triple engine, Kawasaki came up with a completely new hull design, which made the ZXI a popular light and fun ski.

Next door Yamaha presented its new World Champion ski, the WaveRaider 1100. Using its race proven V shaped hull, Yamaha upgraded the WaveRaider 700 to a triple cylinder 1100cc beast.

The combination of the aggressive hull design and the amazing power plant made the WaveRaider 1100 the most dominant ski of its era.

Apart from the new triple engines, there have been quite another few new comers. Kawasaki introduced its brand new racing stand-up ski, the SXI 750. With its new hull design and super powerful 750cc engines, it was the first stand-up ski to feature dual carburetors and quickly became a popular choice for racers.

This latest version of the 750cc engine was a great basis for many tuning companies to build even more powerful aftermarket parts.

Yamaha decided to try a new direction and introduced the WaveVenture 700. The full-sized 3-seater model was aimed for beginners and was very stable even in fairly rough waters, it became a hit at beaches and Jetski rentals. It also was the basis for the XL1200 that came out in 1998.

But not only Kawasaki and Yamaha presented new engines. SeaDoo did not enter the triple engine scene but introduced the newly designed 720cc and 800cc engines.

The XP was completely overhauled this year. Major changes included introduction of the X4 hull design, not to be confused with the Kawasaki X-4. The race inspired X4 hull had significantly improved performance and handling over prior designs and became one of the best designed hulls of that time.

SeaDoo also introduced a completely new ski in 1995, the HX 720. It was built to compete with the Yamaha WaveBlaster in the sports class.

The HX included the 720 engine and a seat suspension system. It was designed as single seater and is a challenge to ride as the hull is very narrow in design and requires some forward momentum.

It was a very successful competition for the WaveBlaster as its longer and very aggressively designed bottom hull made the ski very fast and grippy. However, because of reliability issues, it was discontinued in 1998. The HX remains until today, like the WaveBlaster, a very popular ski for the sports class and for engine swaps.

Yamaha upgraded the SuperJet with the 701cc single carb engine.

In 1996, the new SeaDoo GSX was introduced as two passenger ski that was larger and more stable than the X4 hull although slower. It was much more comfortable in accommodating two passengers when compared to the tippy X4 hull. It became SeaDoo’s most family friendly ski.

The same year Kawasaki released the possibly most popular 2-stroke engine they have ever built. The triple cylinder ZXI 900 engine received a bigger bore and increased to 1100cc and 120hp.

It was first used in the ZXI hull but quickly became tuner’s favorite engine. The 1100cc is still today one of the most popular engines for 2-stroke race skis and is often used for triple conversion in hulls such as the WaveBlaster, HX, or stand-up hulls.

But the biggest new comer in 1996 was the all new Yamaha SuperJet (often referred to as Roundnose model).

The Yamaha RN SuperJet quickly became the most popular stand-up ski and featured one of the most iconic 2-stroke engines ever

made, the 62t 701cc twin carb engine. The 701 engine was produced unchanged for 24 years from 1996 until 2020, making it the longest produced Jetski engine in the world.

Furthermore, for 9 years it has been the last 2-stroke production engine on the market when Kawasaki discontinued their 2-stroke

series in 2011.

Same as the engine, the RN hull was built from 1996 until 2020 with only minor changes on the bottom deck in 2008.

The RN Superjet has been built for 24 years and is considered as the most iconic allround stand-up ski that has ever been made. Even though it was very successful in the racing scene, winning several world titles, it has been the most revolutionary ski in the Freestyle and Freeride world.

It was riders favorite for heavy modifications and to execute flatwater tricks and became the first Jetski in the world to perform a backflip. The RN was discontinued in 2020, ending the glorious era of production 2-stroke Jetskis.

The 62t twin carb engine was also installed in the last official production year of the legendary WaveBlaster.

Since the WaveBlaster has been so popular but required quite some skills to ride, Yamaha launched the WaveBlaster 2. With a new 760cc engine, the WaveBlaster 2 was larger, faster and more stable than the first model and allowed more people to enjoy the fun riding characteristics. However it was only built for 2 years.

In 1997 SeaDoo completely redesigned the XP, creating the probably most recognizable and famous Jetski silhouette.

As SeaDoo was not able to compete with Kawasaki and Yamaha in the big boys class, they came up with a drastic change in design and riding characteristics. Prior to this, the XP hull designs were considered a “lean-out“ design.

The seat design was born out the HX a was similar to a motorcycle rather than a traditional Jetski. Even though the power to weight ratio was lower than the 1996 XP, it was a faster top end hull.

SeaDoo also introduced its new 2 cylinder 951cc RAVE valve engine, rated 135hp. However, the engine was a complete fail and was redesigned in 1998 to resolve the existing reliability issues.

Rock’n’Roll on water! That’s what riders thought the first time they opened the throttle on the all new 1100 STX. The combination of the 1100 ZXI engine and a hand-laid fiberglass hull with an all-new “cab-forward“ design and a 3-person seat made the 1100 STX the ideal runabout for family outings and coastal exploration.

In 1997, Yamaha released yet another World Championship winning ski, the legendary GP1200. It was released as a runabout model with stunning performance.

With the most powerful 1200cc engine in the industry and a compact body designed for great agility, this model stole the hearts of riders who loved real speed riding. The legendary 65u 1200cc triple cylinder engine is an upgraded version of the 1100cc used in the WaveRaider, and is the first engine to be tunable with aftermarket Triple Pipes.

Just like the Kawasaki ZXI 1100cc engine, the 65u 1200cc is one of the most popular engines for swaps and conversions in WaveBlaster, HX or stand-up hulls.

In 1998, SeaDoo resolved the reliability issues on their 950cc engine. In addition an 800cc RFI (Real Fuel Injection) engine is added to the GTX. It is the very first fuel injected engine in the industry and provides cleaner emissions to address environmental standards and also improves fuel economy.

Racer’s delight! Kawasaki released the SXI 750 Pro in 1998 to replace the super successful SXI 750, which immediately dominated racing.

Massive twin-cylinder horsepower and impeccable handling from a new hand-laid fiberglass hull with a lower centre of gravity for more race-oriented performance made the SXI Pro an instant winner.

It was the last modified version of the SXI series.

After being super successful in racing, Yamaha wanted to come up with a more comfort and family orientated Jetski and introduced the XL1200. It quickly became Yamaha’s top model in the full-sized 3-seater category. It won popularity for its unbeatable combination of the powerful and race proven 65u 1200cc engine, a hull that delivered both great running performance and stability and contemporary styling. This model expanded the world of PWC sports to include touring, towing sports and family riding.

Even though the official production of the WaveBlaster 1 came to an end after 1996, there has been a limited edition in 1997/1998, the WaveBlaster limited, that was only available in South Africa and Australia. This was the very last WaveBlaster 1 model and the end of a legend.