I don’t normal stray from the topic of personal finance, but I do have an interest in all things driven by a motor. In fact, I have a Car Talk page where I talk about my car ownership experiences here. When I was 9 years old, my father bought a 1998 Kawasaki 900STX Jet Ski. The most exciting time of my childhood is when I earned my PWC (Personal Water Craft) drivers license at 11. You read that right! Pennsylvania allowed 11 year olds to control 60mph PWC’s with a valid PWC drivers license. In the neighboring state of NJ, you had to be 16 years old. As time went on, we bought a second PWC, a 1996 Yamaha WaveRunner. Then we purchased a 2002 SugarSand Tango Jet Boat, then a Bombardier Sea-Doo. We sold the Sea-Doo after 1 year and kept the Yamaha until it died sometime in 2007. We kept the SugarSand Jet boat until we decided to sell it in 2013 and we sold our original reliable 1998 Kawasaki 900STX in 2016.
Now we are boat-less. For years, I have been looking for a new Kawasaki Jet Ski. While my dream Jet Ski is the 2007 Kawasaki Ultra 150, the fastest production PWC at the time, it is nearly impossible to find let alone in good condition.
Although I prefer the looks, driving dynamics, and build quality of a Kawasaki Jet-Ski or Yamaha WaveRunner, Sea-Doo is always pushing the envelope with its innovations in the water craft industry. It was just over 5 years ago when they released the first plastic PWC, the Sea-Doo Spark. It was the lightest, most fuel efficient, and most affordable PWC ever made at an MSRP under $6,000. I actually wrote a graduate school paper on Engineering the Sea-Doo Switch. Since they opted for plastic instead of the traditional fiberglass, regular maintenance was a bit tricky. To keep its rigidity, they had to mold the plastic in a way that made it difficult to access the engine.
While I continue to search for a Kawasaki Jet Ski, my wife prefers a small jet boat for the family and my dad wants a large pontoon. This is where the new Sea-Doo Switch comes in.
Enter the Sea-Doo Switch
The Sea-Doo Switch is the most innovative and modular Pontoon ever released with a starting price of just $17,999, trailer included! With the Switch, you can move seats around, install a barbecue, tables, ice boxes, storage cubby’s, GPS, Audio systems, carpet, and more. The possibilities and layout options are endless. The Switch comes in many flavors and customizable configurations. All Switch models can be ordered in pre-made configurations for family, water sports, and comfort.
The Standard Switch comes in Caribbean Blue with two engine options ranging from 100HP to 170HP. Depending on how you setup the modular platform, you can have up to 9 seats. Standard is 5 seats. You can also order the Switch Standard in 3 different lengths – 13ft, 16ft, 19ft. The most expensive water sports model tops out around $38,000.
The Switch Sport comes in Caribbean Blue, Neon Green, and Coral Blast colors. Its two engine options range from 170hp to 230hp. The Sport comes in 18ft and 21ft lengths.
The Switch Cruise provides the most comfort and comes available with the same engine options, colors, and lengths as the Switch Sport. However you can also get the 100HP base engine if you want.
Before Sea-Doo came out with the Switch, Pontoons were boring slow boats that didn’t handle well or look good. They were often used in boat rental agencies for parties on the lake. Pontoons are also huge and difficult to tow or store. Sea-Doo made the Pontoon cool and easy to live with. They even made it a jet-pontoon with a PWC steering wheel to keep it familiar for their PWC customers. Since my budget for a PWC or boat is less than $5,000, I will have to wait and see what prices these bring in the used market.
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