A personal water craft, also called water scooter, is a recreational
watercraft that the rider sits or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat.
PWCs have two style categories. The first and most popular being a "sit
down", where the rider uses the watercraft mainly sitting down and
typically holds two or more people. The second style is a "stand up", where the
rider uses the watercraft standing up. The stand up styles are built for one
rider and is used more for doing tricks, racing, and are used in competitions.
Both styles have an inboard engine driving a pump jet that has a
screw-shaped impeller to create thrust for propulsion and steering. They are
often referred by the trademarked brand names Jet Ski, WaveRunner, or Sea-Doo.
Most are designed for two or three people, though four-passenger models
exist. The United States Coast Guard defines a personal watercraft, amongst
other criteria, as a jet drive boat less than 13 feet in length, in order to
exclude from that definition more conventional sized jet boats. There is a
wide variety of "jet boats" many of which exceed 30–40 feet in length.
History Water scooters - as they were originally
termed - were first developed in Europe in the mid-1950s, with models such as
the British 200cc propellor-driven Vincent Amanda, and the German Wave
Roller. Two thousand Vincent Amandas were exported to the United States,
Europe, and Australasia. In the 1960s, the idea was developed further by
Clayton Jacobson II of Byron Bay, Australia. Originally a motocross
enthusiast, Jacobson's idea was designed in the mid-1960s, powered by an internal
pump-jet rather than an outboard motor, made of all aluminum, and had a fixed,
upright handle. Jacobson eventually quit his job in banking to devote himself to
developing the idea, and had a working prototype by 1965. It differed slightly
from modern personal watercraft but had definite similarities. He completed a
second prototype a year later made of fiberglass.
The first Clayton-type PWC to reach the market was designed by Bombardier in the
late 1960s. Bombardier's original designs were not very popular and
Bombardier left the business before 1970. Stand-up PWCs first appeared on
the US market in 1973 and were produced by Kawasaki. These were mass-produced
boats to be used by only one rider. While they are still produced today, the
more popular design, is the sit down variety of PWC. These sit down models
have been produced by Kawasaki, Bombardier, Yamaha, Honda, Polaris and
Arctic Cat. As of 2010, the major manufacturers of PWCs were Kawasaki,
Bombardier and Yamaha. Both Yamaha and Kawasaki continue to sell stand up
models but it is a small percentage of the overall market.
Non-recreational uses PWCs are small, fast, easily handled,
fairly easy to use, affordable, and their propulsion systems do not have
external propellers, making them safer for swimmers and wildlife. For these
reasons, they are preferred for non-recreational use over small
motorboats. Lifeguards use PWCs equipped with rescue
platforms to rescue water users who get into difficulties and carry them back to
shore. Rescuers use PWCs to pick up flood survivors.
PWCs are used for law enforcement. Due to their speed and excellent
maneuverability, police and rangers use them to enforce laws on lakes and
rivers. A PWC combined with a wash-reduction
system, carrying waterproof loudspeaker equipment and GPS for instructions and
distance measurement, has purportedly been used by assistant coaches for
rowing sports on the River Tyne. PWCs are used by the U.S. Navy as
surface targets. Equipped with GPS, electronic compass, radar reflector, and
a radio modem, the PWC is fully remotable with a two-way link. Its small
shipboard footprint allows it to be stored and deployed from the smallest of
vessels, and it has been used for target practice for everything from 5" to small
arms. PWCs are banned from many state parks
throughout the U.S. including Kachemak Bay State Park in Alaska.
Emissions The PWC industry reached an agreement
with the Coast Guard in 1999 whereby a PWC cannot exceed 65 mph pursuant to a
specified test protocol. Before 1991, PWC emissions were
unregulated in the United States. Many were powered by two-stroke cycle
engines, which are smaller and lighter than four-stroke cycle engines but more
polluting. Simple two-stroke engines are lubricated on a "total loss" method,
mixing lubricating oil with their fuel; they are estimated to create exhaust in
excess of 25% of their fuel and oil unburned in addition to the products of
incomplete and complete combustion. The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act
allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating
all recreational marine engines including PWC, as well as other off-road
internal combustion engines. The agency began a dialogue with manufacturers in
1991, resulting in regulations that were enacted in 1996. These regulations, set
to phase in between 1998 and 2006, are considered averaging standards, because
they allow manufacturers to offset more-polluting engines in their product
range by offering other engines that exceed the standard. California and
subsequently New York have, in turn, adopted more stringent regulations than
the federal standard. Subsequent to 2004 when the maximum emission reductions
required by California became effective, the substantial majority of new PWC
units sold throughout the United States have met the lower emissions standards
established by California. To meet these regulations, manufacturers
have adopted a variety of improvements, including increased use of four-stroke
engines, the use of direct injection for two-strokes, and the use of catalytic
converters and other pollution-curbing measures that overall have reduced
emissions by approximately 75% compared to pre-regulation models.
In some areas, such as Lake Tahoe, All outboard motors and PWCs are permitted
if they meet the 2006 EPA regulations. A number of pre-2006 model year PWC meet
that EPA standard. Environmental groups such as the
Surfrider Foundation and the Bluewater Network claim that more rapid progress
could be made, and that the dimishing numbers of pre-1998 watercraft in use
continue to emit substantial pollution. Against this, industry groups such as
the Personal Watercraft Industry Association point out that environmental
groups continue to cite pollution levels of pre-regulation watercraft and ignore
the improvements made to newer models; and furthermore, that personal
watercraft are unfairly singled out when they are no more polluting than other
powered boats. Hazards
Apart from the obvious hazards of collisions and mechanical breakdowns
common to all vehicles, operating or riding a PWC can involve a risk of
orifice injuries. These injuries are typical of the kinds of injuries that
waterskiers experience by virtue of falling into the water at speed. Such
injuries can occur from simply falling in the water at speed or they can occur
from the output end of the pump jet. A rider who falls off the back can land
directly in the path of the PWC's high-pressure jet of water. Unless a
rider is appropriately dressed in garments made out of a strong, thick
substance like neoprene, the jet may penetrate any orifice it reaches. All
major PWC manufacturers warn about this risk and recommend that passengers wear
wet suit bottoms or equivalent protection. The American Waterski Racing
Association recommends that all of their racers wear wet suit bottoms for this
same reason. Such orifice injuries can result in
permanent disability or death. For example, in 2006, the California Court
of Appeal for the First Appellate District upheld a $3.7 million Napa
County jury verdict against Polaris Industries arising out of one such
incident. It is also possible for multiple riders on the same PWC to
sustain orifice injuries in a single accident, as actually occurred in a 2007
accident at Mission Bay which resulted in a San Diego County jury verdict
affirmed in full on appeal in 2014. While also rare, spinal injuries can
occur while surf jumping and, potentially, wake jumping. The PWC
manufacturers owner's manuals all include warnings regarding jumping at
excessive heights, or operating a PWC if there is a prior history of back injury.
The current on-product labels say "Jumping wakes or waves can increase the
risk of spinal/backbone injuries". The current Kawasaki owner's manual
provides: "Slow down before crossing waves. Do not ride if you have a back
condition. High speed operation in choppy or rough water may cause back
injuries." Another rare, but unique injury risk
with jet boats, is being sucked into the intake side of the pump jet. Current PWC
products contain on-product warnings that state: "Keep away from Intake Grate
while the engine is on. Items such as long hair, loose clothing, or PFD straps
can become entangled in moving parts and result in severe injury or drowning".
See also Aqua scooter
Flyboard Wetbike
Yamaha Superjet Yamaha Wave Blaster
Yamaha Waverunner 2 and 3 References
External links Personal water craft at DMOZ