One of the missions I have in life is to operate as many vehicles as I can. I love everything with an engine, from motorcycles and locomotives to ships, cars, and aircraft. I want to take the helm of a giant cargo ship, drive a mile-long train, and at least get into the cockpit of a Boeing 747. Yet, one thing I haven’t really done is watercraft, and it’s time I changed that. I recently got back from an adventure taking a Sea-Doo RXP-X 325 HP and Sea-Doo GTR-X 300 HP personal watercraft through gator-infested rivers in Florida. My life has been changed and I’m shaking just thinking about it.
I’ve now gotten to experience motorized fun in nearly all dimensions. Some people might be quick to say that they prefer flying a general aviation aircraft to driving or perhaps they prefer the thrill of a motorcycle, but I’m not in the same boat. There’s no experience quite like flying, but flying also can’t match the hilarity of 700 HP in a work truck. That work truck also can’t hug curves like a motorcycle and none of these vehicles belong in the water. Okay, the plane does if it’s equipped for that.
A personal watercraft opens up an entirely new dimension of fun travel. In some ways it feels a bit like a motorcycle, but it’s not, and the thrill hits differently. Having 325 supercharged horses on deck certainly helps.
(Full Disclosure: BRP invited me down to Sanford, Florida, to experience its most powerful Sea-Doo personal watercraft. BRP paid for my lodging, travel, and so much gator to eat.)
In hindsight, this opportunity was sort of a weird one. As I said before, I love all things with engines. However, one of my blindspots has been vehicles that float. I commanded a tiny tin fishing boat once when I was a kid, but it was slow with just a trolling motor and oars for propulsion. I also got to play with the Sea-Doo Switch a few years ago. But that’s it. Prior to taking control of the new Sea-Doo RXP-X and the new Sea-Doo GTR-X, I had been in control of a floating vehicle only twice before. Sure, I’ve been a passenger in plenty of boats, but rarely ever taken control of one.
This experience sent me to Facebook, scrolling through endless pages of personal watercraft (PWC) for sale. Of course, I need a new hobby to take my money, as if my current collection wasn’t bad enough.
The silly part about all of this is that BRP didn’t put this beginner boater on something easy like the Sea-Doo Spark. Instead, the PR people plopped me down onto the most powerful and fastest PWCs on the market. It’s like putting a beginner rider on a literbike. But BRP knows I’m a bit of a daredevil, perhaps with a dash of that foolishness that comes with having fewer miles on that life odometer.
If you ride motorcycles, you’re likely aware of the speed wars of the 1980s and 1990s. Japanese motorcycle producers were cranking up power and top speeds to levels never-before seen. The motorcycles of the period were untouchable, faster than the best police cars, and quicker than many riders’ talents. As the legend goes, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers caused a bit of a panic with politicians. The Suzuki Hayabusa hit 194 mph in the hands of Cycle World and the competition was planning on going even faster. Faced with the idea of motorcycles tearing up Japan, the government convinced the motorcycle manufacturers to limit their bikes to 186 mph. They could go faster, but you’d have to delete the limiters.
But as I said, that is still largely a legend. While it’s true that Japanese motorcycle makers limited their bikes to 186 mph, it’s not known exactly what the government said. But this kind of gentlemen’s agreement isn’t unheard of. Remember when every Japanese sporty car made no more than 276 HP for a while?
Either way, those days are over and the speed wars are back on. Things are even heating up on the water, where this Sea-Doo RXP-X is the fastest stock PWC money can buy right now.
Every company wants to wear the crown of the fastest and most powerful PWC. However, as BRP’s Tim McKercher told me, this has concerned the U.S. government because the PWC power wars mean that any yahoo with $20,000 in their pocket can now go speeds normally reserved for racing applications.
The fastest Kawasaki Jet Ski on the market right now has a 1.5-liter engine with 310 wet horses to its name while Yamaha makes 250 ponies with a chunky 1.9-liter engine. In 2023, BRP decided to skip past the competition. The Sea-Doo RXP-X and RXT-X come with a supercharged Rotax 1630 ACE. This is a 1.6-liter triple making a monstrous 325 HP. BRP now leads the industry in power and does it with a compact engine.
Yet, even the PWCs have a gentlemen’s agreement limiting them to just 68.5 mph. So these companies compete to get you to that number the quickest. BRP says the RXP-X hits 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds and by golly, it’s not just industry-leading, but simply intense. BRP informs me that a popular mod is the removal of the speed limiter. If you do that, you’ll void the engine’s warranty, but unlock top speeds well past 80 mph. I’m told the engine is actually designed to go above 80 mph, too. That’s daft and I need to experience that one day.
But, I was there to ride these watery machines as they come from the factory, and nothing was going to stop me, not even Florida’s wildlife.
Heading Into Gator Country
Most people who haven’t been to Florida seem to picture the state as being a place full of boring people driving golf carts around gated retirement communities. There is a kernel of truth to that as a lot of folks do retire in gated communities in the state. However, you have to look past those and forget about the bustle of places like Disney. Florida has great places to discover if you just point your vehicle to them.
The starting point for this journey was the city of Sanford. The city itself is fascinating in that there are bricks everywhere you look. The roads, buildings, and decorative structures are all brick. This normally isn’t that surprising. Illinois has tons of old places addicted to bricks, but this is Florida, where BRP representative and Florida resident Tim tells me isn’t super common. In the late 1880s, Sanford’s structures were wood, but then a fire essentially leveled the city. Sanford’s people rebuilt their city in brick. Tim tells me that due to how clay is found and transported in Florida, the incredible use of brick here isn’t really found south of Sanford.
Aside from the brick, what surprised me is just how much Floridians are perfectly okay with alligators being everywhere all the time. Signs dot the state telling you not to swim or fish in many fresh waters because snakes and gators would love to meet you out there. Yet, the people of Florida treat gators like we treat deer up north. Go deep enough into Florida and you’ll find delicious appetizers and main courses of affordable gator. Apparently, Florida loves getting back at aggressive gators by killing them and eating them. I get a giggle out of that and you know what? Gator is some of the best meat I’ve had in recent memory. Keep being you, Florida.
After indulging myself in a gator-rich meal next to Lake Monroe, Tim informed me where I’d be testing BRP’s best. Sanford sits next to the St. Johns River. At 310 miles, it’s Florida’s longest river. This river also flows north, making for the weird realization that the river’s upper basin is actually its southernmost point. The St. Johns is also really shallow, typically averaging around 3 to 4 feet in depth with the deepest portions reaching 10 feet.
The river hadn’t seen a ton of rain before I got there, so the river was a few feet lower than it should have been. This made navigation particularly interesting because you just didn’t always know where you’d hit a place where the water was merely inches deep rather than feet. So Tim informed me, the lower water levels meant the gators clustered closer together. Still, if you looked at the shores you could catch plenty of alligators sunbathing. The signs didn’t lie; these creatures were literally everywhere.
I Like Big Power And I Cannot Lie
Tim started my ride on the Sea-Doo GTR-X. This PWC has only 300 HP from a supercharged Rotax 1630 ACE making 300 HP. This is the same engine as described above, but with an ever so slightly gentler tune. The big thing to know about the GTR-X is its hull. It’s made out of the Polytec plastic composite material BRP loves so much, but the important part to understand is that the PWC has a flatter hull. I’ll get to why that matters in a moment.
Mounting the GTR-X felt a lot like straddling a motorcycle. The seat is narrow and your feet are positioned like you’re on a sportbike. Controls are easy. A finger-operated throttle system gets you going in forward, neutral, or reverse. Going forward is about as you’d expect. Turn right to go starboard and turn left to go port. However, because these PWCs use a pump jet system, reversing is a little different. A right turn on the handlebar sends the jet to the right, which pulls the stern to starboard and your bow to port. What helped me was visualizing it like backing up a trailer, and I nailed maneuvers in no time.
Once we got onboard both PWCs, Tim and I motored out of Sanford’s port, then we hit the lake, where I showed no fear in just laying on the throttle.
Water on Lake Monroe was choppy and we were going 45 mph to 50 mph. This quickly translated to grand airtime. I was getting feet into the air, yet the Sea-Doo didn’t care one bit. It maintained speed and direction and to my surprise, I wasn’t getting totally beaten up. I wasn’t even 5 minutes in before I started cackling.
In time, we reached an opening into the St. Johns, where the water calmed down to the point of being glass-like. We were flanked on both sides by wild Florida, and now I was in a place I hadn’t ever seen before. I swim in a lot of rivers, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. I felt as if I was in a jungle or something, and you bet I was the queen of it.
On the flat river, I opened up the GTR-X. The speedometer climbed to 50 mph and then 60 mph and beyond. Since this was my very first time on a PWC, I wasn’t sure about turning at first. Was it going to be like a motorcycle where you’d get in some lean angle? Maybe it would be a full-body workout like riding a snowmobile? I was surprised to find out that the Sea-Doo was really its own thing. Turn the bar and the GTR-X leaned into turns all by itself. I did notice that if I took a turn fast enough, it felt as if the PWC wanted to throw me off, and shifting weight into turns solved that easily.
It was here where Tim’s explanation of the GTR-X’s flat hull started making sense. Go into a corner hard enough on the GTR-X and the stern will kick out. The sensation is a bit like drifting a car, but you’re doing it on water! The rush is exhilarating as fauna and flora pass by your sunglasses almost faster than you can compute. You’re going so fast that if a gator is nearby, it dives into the shallow water because it’s not interested in dealing with you.
Tim’s choice of the St. Johns River was a great one. There are so many sharp curves that it felt almost as if it was a canyon road. But again, this was on water in swampy and humid Florida. I was about as far away from the confines of a car on a scenic road as I could be. Then I hit the throttle harder and giggled some more.
Despite having 300 horses on deck, the GTR-X didn’t as readily hit that governed 68 mph. Again, I’m not a boat person, so I was a bit astonished at that. Tim explained the thing I was having too fun to realize. 300 HP gets you grand speeds in cars and motorcycles because they don’t have to worry about the drag of pushing through water. You need lots of power to go really fast on water.
To put this into perspective, the boat speed record was set in 1978 by Ken Warby of Australia. He went 317.58 mph in a jet-powered hydroplane. That record stands today and some men have attempted to break it, only to result in their deaths. Going fast on water is something else.
Still, 300 HP is a lot for a craft that weighs about as much as a motorcycle and is sold to the public. The GTR-X isn’t even the king of BRP’s Sea-Doo line and it still accelerates fast enough to take my breath away. I could have spent the entire day drifting through the river’s corners at 63 mph. If there were a microphone attached to my life jacket you would have heard enough laughing to put a witch to shame. Not even my hair could stand up to the speed.
Somehow, It Gets Even Faster
After a couple of hours of speedrunning the St. Johns, we stopped at a hole-in-the-wall bar and cafe for even more alligator. Gators taste great as tacos, too!
Now, I have to briefly depart from our speed junkie story here. If you read my bio, I make a note that I will swim in any body of water that I can find. That is no exaggeration. I’m the kind of person who has more fun swimming in a mud hole than driving a truck through it. Taking a dip in the Mississippi River was a dream come true, and the crystal clear lakes of Oregon remain unrivaled. I can’t wait until I head into Michigan’s UP later this year for more water action.
So, you could imagine how hard it was for me to spend an entire day on water, but not be allowed to swim in it. Ok, I guess I could have swam in it, but my wife does prefer I come home with all limbs still attached. Those gator signs were my enemies. I suppose I got some revenge on the way to the cafe because I saw a gator pop out of the water and I didn’t have enough time to dodge it. The thump on the Sea-Doo’s hull suggested the gator didn’t get out of the way in time, either.
After I consumed frankly addictive gator tacos, it was time to ride the PWC to rule them all. The Sea-Doo RXP-X was built to do nothing but go life-changing speeds. There’s a seat for one and a rounded hull. The PWC is painted in bright red, is draped in carbon fiber, and looks like someone took a Formula 1 car and put it on water. Its intentions are clear: Fun is number one. I hopped on, fired up my tunes on BRP’s big thumping boombox speakers, and was ready to rock and roll.
By now I’ve gotten confident enough to do more than just hit that governed top speed. I left the cafe by jamming the throttle to full. The RXP-X roared to life with a response time better than many cars I’ve driven. Its bow shot straight to the sky and the engine didn’t let up in leaping me into the sky, starving itself of water in the process. I guess that was my first PWC “wheelie!” But it was more than that as simply hammering the throttle got me airtime.
I emitted a laugh similar to that of a supervillain. Not even Batman could stop me.
When the bow landed I got right back on the throttle. Despite a small 25 HP difference, the RXP-X is tuned to deliver all of its power quick and early. That 3.4-second race to 60 mph is accurate and frankly mind-boggling. I’ve gone that fast on land, but doing this on water was insane. The scenery went from sitting still to all bent over like warp speed in no time flat.
Tim’s explanation of the rounded hull quickly made sense here, too. While the previous PWC liked to sort of drift its way around turns, the RXP-X practically rode on rails. Motions on the handlebar were met with a direct and sharp response. If I could compare the PWC to a car again, it was like driving a supercar. It hugged those watery turns like a supercar stays planted on a canyon road. And due to the tuning of this monster, you zipped around turns on the RXP-X at exactly 68 mph. The engine was so powerful that it often outran its limiter, hitting 71 mph before the electronic limiter reined you in.
I felt like a villain on the RXP-X. I started doing tricks, like flicking the throttle during a sharp and fast U-turn, which resulted in the RXP-X leaping out of the water as it hit 60 mph faster than I could even think. The RXP-X was so fast and was so easy to go fast that Tim couldn’t even keep up with me, and PWCs are his whole thing! The whole time I was laughing so hard that I started shedding tears. I reached a level of euphoria last seen when I drove the Ford F-150 FP700 and my wedding before that. The only way things could have gotten better is if I could have finished the ride with a swim without becoming dinner.
Each curve of the St. Johns was intoxicating and I happily drank it up on the fastest PWC you can buy right now. I was speed.
Eventually, the St. Johns opened back up to Lake Monroe during the return trip. The chop was worse in the return direction, yet the RXP-X’s rounded hull handled it better than the GTR-X. Most of the time, the RXP-X just skipped across the bad stuff, but I had to hold enough speed for it to work that way. I felt like I was breaking some law of physics. One thing you could break with these PWCs is your bank account, because 4 hours of often full-throttle riding drained these tanks. I don’t have exact mileage numbers right now, but the fuel consumption is frankly shocking.
We returned to Sanford for the second time I’ve ever docked a floating thing. The first time was three years ago with the Sea-Doo Switch. I’m not sure if boating is just a thing I should get into or if BRP’s products make this easy, but motoring up to the dock and tying up the PWC was a cinch. You won’t see me on one of those boating fail channels!
When I stepped back on dry land I was trembling like a chihuahua. The energy was still flowing through my body. There’s not a can of Red Bull in the world that could have made me feel as excited and full of power as I felt that afternoon. The Sea-Doo RXP-X elevated my senses to a new level of thrill. I’m afraid that the only way forward from here would be to take up skydiving or to put on a wingsuit. Maybe get me into a Lockheed Martin F-35 or something.
The 2024 Sea-Doo GTR-X starts at $16,999 while the addictive 2024 Sea-Doo RXP-X will set you back $19,199.
I will do more detailed write-ups of these machines in the future, but what you should know is that if you ride one, you will discover a form of fun you never knew existed. Riding one of these might re-wire your brain and see speed in a different light. At the very least, get out there and discover parts of America you never knew existed, you’ll be glad you did.
Great Boatopian!
I’ve driven a 225 hp Yamaha jetski (can’t remember which one) on the sea and it was a wild and very fun ride. Hit 60 mph pretty fast and I had to really hold on not to drop off, but didn’t accelerate much after that. Would be fun to know what 100 hp more could do.
Speedboating as general is awesome. As a teenager I had a small 4 person speedboat with a 35 hp outboard engine and I went bit over 30 in it. Might not sound very speedy, but feels quick on the water and still great to do sharp turns without losing that much speed.
I’ve also driven very small one person triangle-ish racing boat with a 40 hp outboard and it hit 50 quick and could do razor sharp corners flat out. Just was not very good on any kind of waves.
“Yet, even the PWCs have a gentlemen’s agreement limiting them to just 68.5 mph.”
Is this true? Cause I hit over 70 on my stock GTX regularly. And that’s from the speedo on the PWC… so if it was limited I would expect it to back off at 68.5.
I’ve done 75 on it before (cheeks flapping).
Eff these noisy things and their leaf blower cousins.
Lake lice, as my family calls them. But I will admit, we have a Sea-Doo spark that is very fun.
I enjoy driving jet skis but as a sailor, I hate them. Generally speaking, they are driven irresponsibly and they are loud. Nothing ruins the serenity of sailing more than two rented jet skiers circling your boat because it looks serene. Muffle them and follow the rules of navigation and they are great. I guess it’s my same feeling for motorcycles. I like it when lakes designate a cove where they can go bananas. It’s fun to watch and isolates the noise/reckless driving.
Also, swim in Florida all you want. There are designated swim areas at Wakula springs with 12ft alligators on the opposite shore. No worries, just be careful approaching the waters edge at night as they might mistake you for a deer. That said, I have fished in Florida at night, in waist high water, watching a lightning storm, on acid. So, do what you want, just muffle it and don’t ruin other peoples day.
Oregon lawmakers had the wisdom to ban them on almost all of our rivers. Smart move.
Family has 2 Honda Aquatrax, and they are simply amazing. Ours top out around 45, which is plenty of speed on a choppy bay. Speed on water is serene, and feels like double the actual speed. I’ve done 60 on a 3 seater, which the added weight is needed for that speed in my opinion. I can’t imagine going 68 on such a lite PWC your first time out there, you may have ruined all other pwc for yourself.
And the cackling when on pwc keeps the kraken away. Let her rip!
Give it a watch.
https://youtu.be/-orKf-5LaE0?feature=shared
Going fast on water really does impart the sensation of speed amazing well. The only the comes close for me is karting. May I suggest you try to get on a shifter kart soon? I’ve not been on one, but from what I’ve heard, it’s also quite a sensation.
I once hired a baby one, might have been 125hp or something, and it was effing nuts, and so much fun. I can not fathom what another 200+hp is like.
Wow, sounds like you had a blast! Glad you had fun. I can’t believe how fast these things are now. Also, gator jerky is good too. I met my wife in FL, we don’t live there now, but was just there a month ago near Daytona and did the “Cat” boats (Catamaran) in Mt. Dora which is sort of close to Sanford (I always think of Sanford and Son! and their Ford truck) and they were fun to navigate
I got my first PWC experience riding a friend’s back in the early 2000s. I don’t remember make or model, I just remember it had stickers that said “turbocharged” in a silly cursive font and “225HP” on it. It was insanely fast, and my friend had removed the speed limiter (I think it was at 55mph) so I got it up to 72mph before I chickened out and slowed down. Unfortunately, our fun time ended when my friend was attempting to break 80mph and the thing chucked a rod. I can only imagine what one with two decades of better hull design techniques and 100hp more would be like…
Man, I could write many paragraphs about jet-skis and different tricks and tips. I won’t, though.
They’re far and away the best motorized riding toy ever invented. Jet-skis absolutely rule.
Mercedes, you are gonna be blown away when you go swimming Up North! The water will be chilly (ha!) but it’s so clean and full of wildlife. It’s a stunning experience.
Need to echo the sentiments about swimming and boating in the U.P. I’ve done both all over it, and Mercedes, if you’re reading: two recommendations:
1. The Keweenaw Waterway is a fantastic canal for waverunners and jet skis. It’s a canal, and I think it’s about 100 miles long. Last time I was up there (3 years ago) I rented a wave runner in Houghton and blasted all along the canal with my sons for half a day. Very wide too, and gorgeous scenery.
2. And of course Presque Isle Park in Marquette. Great for swimming and hiking. Some great points where you can jump off rocks into lake Superior and experience 20-25 foot drops into the lake’s refreshing (okay, icy) waters.
I used to race a souped up Sea-Doo lightweight XP, with mods. I do still miss that charge sometimes, I sold mine after a few (unrelated) broken bones/surgeries, my parents have had a couple, but I can’t comfortably ride them for more that 5-10 minutes now, and I’m only 43… Now I stick to big wallowey pontoon boats on the water, I tend to stay out of trouble with those….for the most part.
I live on an island with ocean on one side and a river in my backyard. The only thing I find objectionable about PWCs is the excessive noise they generate as they scream up and down the river. On nice weekends and holidays it’s like living next to a motocross track. I’m hoping the electric revolution will one day change all that. Otherwise, PWCs are a blast and on high road traffic days often a much faster commute from island to mainland and other islands than driving. Another fun read.
The all-electric Orca PWC and others coming look like a blast and I look forward to encountering one some day soon just to experience the incongruity of a PWC flying by with nothing but the whirrrr of an electric motor.
https://www.taigamotors.com/en/products/orca/
Love your “speed-fro” in the first pic of you on the RXP!
If you really want a PWC challenge, take one of these out to a large body of water with waves. Many years ago, a bunch of co-worker friends went to South Padre and one brought a couple of them. I unintentionally launched myself straight up in the air by taking a wave straight on with too much throttle. The problem is, if you’re not the most dexterous person, getting back on in the waves takes some real effort.
I don’t know that I’d drop 20k on this but sounds like a blast if money is no object.
Love times on PWCs, can’t possibly imagine having one with 300+ HP.
My first time on a PWC they left the drain plugs out so it filled full of water and flipped in the middle of the lake stranding me until I could wave down a boat. Never tried it again.
When I talk to someone about how great PWCs are I find it difficult to adequately convey the sense of excitement and fun. Mercedes’ fine writing has done an admirable job on that score.
I grew up swimming and boating in central Florida. Yeah gators live there but usually don’t bother you unless someone has been feeding them.
Growing up I had a friend who said, “don’t worry about doing a job you love, make enough money to buy a jet-ski. You ain’t never seen someone on a jet-ski having a bad time.”
I once heard a slightly different version of that saying, “Money can’t buy happiness, but have you ever seen a sad person on a jet-ski?”
Fun read, thank you Mercedes. I loved picturing your cackling; I know just what you mean, as my family gives me a hard time because they can tell how thrilling a roller coaster is by how boisterously I laugh. Sounds like I need to try a PWC!
You should watch the videos. It is absolutely the maniacal laughter of a supervillain origin story.
YES! HA HA HA! YES!
Welcome to the jet ski sickos, Mercedes! I’ve been riding them since I was a teenager and my family owns two that live at our river house. They’re Sea Doos of slightly lesser potency…the Wake and GTX with “only” 170 horsepower.
But they’re still a goddamn treat. We’re putting them back in the water this weekend and I can’t wait. PWCs are cool because you can do shit on them that nothing else can really replicate. There just isn’t anything else quite like them, and the joy to dollar and effort ratio is very favorable.
What people don’t tell you is that they’re not that hard to own. If you keep them in an area that gets cold they need to be winterized, but other than that keep up with the preventative maintenance and they’re easy peezy. We’ve had ours for four years and they’ve given us 0 headaches whatsoever other than my dad continuing to suck at backing up their trailer. Just be sure to flush them out after a long day on the water.
You can beat on them for hours and hours on end and they just happily take it. Whether or not your body will be able to take it depends on your age and the conditions…but as a person much wiser than me once said, “I don’t know the secret to happiness but I will say I’ve never seen anyone frown on a jet ski”.
You missed a perfect opportunity to click on a picture and have an alligator popup
Great post, your writing paints a great picture.
Well motorcycles and high powered PWC just scare me. It would have been great if I could have gotten the video up to full screen. Is that an option and I just couldn’t fuligure it out? If so directions please. However, if you desire danger and gators try tubing down the Itchnutucky River I think it’s near Lake City. Riding a large inner tube down a river tied to another inner tube holding a beer filled ice chest while seeing gators and wild bear is as much excitement as you can get at 1-2 mph. And if you ever get down around Boca Raton look up Tom’s Louisiana Kitchen, he serves all kinds of critters in authentic Cajun meals. He has the store bought for the less adventurous as well.
Seems like you were still way ahead of the curve, though, since it sounds like you didn’t try to turn without throttle. I’ve seen a lot of people let off the throttle entirely when they first start turning and have struggles. (I know that you know your stuff–it wasn’t going to be a problem for you.)
Also, I’m glad you talked about the difference in hull shape. I’ve only ever been on the flatter-hulled models, but now I really want to try one of the ones that cut through the water. It all sounds like a blast.