Sea-Doo

Sea-Doo is a brand of personal water craft and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are currently produced in BRP's plants in Querétaro and Juárez, Mexico. Its Rotax engines are produced at BRP's plant in Gunskirchen, Austria. In 2016, Sea-Doo had a 45.8% market share among PWC brands. Sea-Doo is a brand of personal water craft and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are currently produced in BRP's plants in Querétaro and Juárez, Mexico. Its Rotax engines are produced at BRP's plant in Gunskirchen, Austria. In 2016, Sea-Doo had a 45.8% market share among PWC brands. Bombardier introduced its first personal watercraft in 1968, called the Bombardier Sea-Doo. It was designed and mentored by Clayton Jacobson II, who would later develop the more successful Kawasaki Jet Ski watercraft. Also heavily involved was Bombardier's Laurent Beaudoin, who was interested in expanding the success of the Ski-Doo snowmobile to the water. Marketed as the 'Jet-powered Aqua Scooter', the original yellow Sea-Doo was 5 feet wide and 7.5 feet long, somewhat resembling a flying saucer. For 1968, it was powered by an air-cooled, 320cc engine with a top speed of 25 mph. Following complaints of overheating and inefficiency, it was replaced for 1969 with a water cooled 367cc engine. There were common complaints about discomfort from its flat seat and minimally-padded Ski-Doo supplied stainless steel handle bars. After only two years on the market, it was discontinued. The Sea-Doo was re-introduced in 1988 as its own brand under Bombardier, signaling a turnaround in the company's declining fortunes. Annual sales for the Sea-Doo were over 100,000 units in the 1995 fiscal year, at which point the company had captured over half of the personal watercraft market. In 1997 the company earned $212 million on the Sea-Doo. There are six current categories of Sea-Doo models: Rec Lite, Recreation, Tow Sports, Fish Sport, Touring, Sport Fishing, and Performance. The Sea-Doo jet-powered sport boats included a four-seater Sportster 150 with 155 hp or 215 hp, a four-seater Speedster 150 with 255 hp, a six-seater Speedster 200 with 310 hp, and a Speedster 230 with space for up to twelve persons. The Wake 200 model was made for wakeboarding and two Challenger models were less sporty and more luxurious: a smaller Challenger 180 and a larger Challenger 230. In 2012 BRP discontinued the sport boat production citing a decline in global sales in the marine industry. This meant the loss of 350 jobs, including most of those at a plant in Benton, Illinois. The Sea-Doo Spark was released for 2014 which was aimed to attract new buyers to the decreasing PWC market. This model was in development for eight years and was code-named CAFE (clean, affordable, fun, and easy to use). It used a unique polytec hull and deck structure to cut costs and weight. The Spark quickly became the best selling Sea-Doo model.