A Look into the History of PWCs
While it might seem like personal watercraft (PWC) have been around forever, they’re actually quite a recent invention. They just became extremely popular over the last 30 years. The idea for a PWC had existed for a while, but the means to create one just wasn’t available until the 1960s. Read this quick history of the personal watercraft to learn how they were developed. If you’re looking for a PWC of your own, stop by Roseville Motorsports in Rocklin, California, and let one of our friendly staff show you what’s available today!
Early Days
The first attempts made at creating what we might call a personal watercraft happened during the middle of the 20th century in Europe, where they were referred to as “water scooters.” These little vessels had handlebars so that a rider could transport themselves around a small body of water, but they were not used very widely and were never marketed on a massive scale.
A Novel Invention
It took the innovation of Norwegian-American inventor Clayton Jacobson II to build a true personal watercraft. Jacobson loved to ride his motorcycle, but after he crashed it into a ditch, he thought about how much easier it would be if you could get the same types of thrills, but with less risk of hurting yourself if you fell. So, what if you fell into the water instead of on the ground?
Jacobson started to create a prototype for this “aquatic motorcycle,” creating a small aluminum craft that the rider could stand on and propel with handlebars. He based some of the elements of the design on water skis. He then created more prototypes that included sit-down models as well as stand-up models.
Bombardier Recreational Products got in touch with Jacobson, licensing his patent to produce the Sea-Doo®, a large yellow personal watercraft named after their Ski-Doo® snowmobiles, which were extremely popular. This PWC was released in 1968, but it was bulky and hard to ride, so it was soon taken off the market.
A Surge in Interest
During the 1970s and 1980s, a number of powersports manufacturers developed a renewed interest in the concept of a personal watercraft, including Bombardier, which rereleased a new and improved Sea-Doo® personal watercraft in 1988. Before that, the Yamaha® WaveRunner® came out in 1986, while the Kawasaki® JET-SKI® was released in 1973. All of these designs were continuously improved upon during the 1990s, when riding PWC became extremely popular and commonplace. Today, you’ll find sit-down and stand-up models with a whole host of great features intended to give you a great riding experience on the water.
Looking to buy a PWC of your own? Stop by our dealership location to check out our selection of new and used personal watercraft for sale. Talk to one of our friendly sales team members if you’d like to know about our financing options. Roseville Motorsports proudly serves Roseville and Sacramento, California.