I‘m buying a Seadoo or a Yamaha PWC this Spring. I‘m leaning towards the Yamaha FX HO but the brake system on the Seadoos looks interesting. Is the brake system on the Seadoos really worth the $$$$.
never seen a brake on any thing that floats besides a rope
I just looked it up on the SeaDoo website. Great idea. Basically this feature is allowing you to apply some reverse thrust without throwing you off of the ski. The result is just like breaking in your car. This is a great feature for new riders. So many novices are killed every year because they do not know how the machine works and they panic, causing a collision. It's up to you and your skill level. I have been riding for years and would not pay extra for this. But, I am sure others will.
I've ridden the GTX Limited iS model that has the braking system. If you have NEVER ridden a PWC, grabbing the brake might seem like a good idea. If you have any experience on a PWC, you will probably NEVER use the brake. Why? A PWC is propelled by water thrust and thrust is controlled by the throttle. No throttle, not thrust. no control. Thus, if you are so close to an object that you are compelled to grab a brake, you are probably going to hit the object anyway because of forward momentum and the fact that you lost control of the craft when you let off the throttle. I found that the Seadoo brake was counter-intuitive. Worse, I think a so called brake on a PWC is more likely to get novice riders in a jam because they could overly rely on the brake not understanding how a PWC actually works. Now in fairness to the braking system, it did reduce forward momentum compared to a PWC with no brake. Maybe by a 1/3. Now, the GTX Limited iS costs more than $16K. The Yamaha FX HO you mentioned is $11,799. The top of the line Yamaha FX Cruiser SHO with comparable performance to the GTX Limited iS cost $13K. All three models have throttle limiters that can be activated to reduce top speeds for novices. Save the money, be responsible for the people you let ride your PWC, and use common sense.
