2004 Sea Doo RXP      Ted Rankine: In the late 1960s, Bombardier introduced the world's first personal water craft. Called the Sea-Doo Aqua Scooter, it was quite revolutionary. As a matter of fact, it was so far ahead of its time, that it only remained on the marketplace for a few short years, before it was eventually reintroduced in the late 1980s. After reentering the marketplace in 1988, and throughout the '90s, Sea-Doo products have grown with the times and followed pace with market demands, and along the way, created a new lifestyle on the water.We entered a whole new century, and Sea-Doo has returned to their roots, introducing their RXP, a two-seater personal watercraft that is more fun and faster than you can imagine.

       The RXP is a cross between the popular RX and XP models combining the best attributes from each. Billed as the first true muscle craft PWC, the RXP has inherited some if its design details such as chromatic sense and colors from the muscle car of the '60s and '70s. The hull is a semi v, which, along with sponsons makes for a stable ride and great maneuverability. The convertible seat offers a high performance street bike look when riding solo, but with the cowl removed, there is enough room for 2 adults to ride comfortably. 
     Equipped with a variable trim system, the rider can change the jet nozzle position and resulting attitude of the boat to achieve the optimal riding position in all water conditions. And to aid in maneuverability, the RXP also comes with off power assisted steering. To keep the rider in touch with the watercraft's vital stats and what is happening around them is the Sea-Doo infocentre. 
     Along with an analogue tachometer and speedometer, the 90 mm display provides information on things like ambient air temperature, a trip log in total hours of operation, 16 pieces of information in all.
     But at the heart of this muscle boat is its power. In the engine department, the RXP features the Rotex 4-tec supercharged 4-stroke engine, and it's 1,494 cc's pump out a whopping 215 hp. We have had a look at the RXP on the trailer and it looks pretty good.
     But it's out here that the rubber meets the road, or in our case, where the 215 hp meets the water. Putting the throttle down, I was amazed at the acceleration. 
     The Rotex 4-tec power pulled away with a surprising amount of torque, starting powerfully in the low end, and staying with me all the way up to wide open throttle.
     At 7,000 rpm, the boat clipped along at 53 1/2 miles per hour, and doing a few gentle slaloms, I felt comfortable and very much in control. In the handling department, the combination of the best features or the RX and XP award winning hulls sure became evident. I felt no fear putting the RXP semi-v hull through its paces.
     A big benefit of the 4-tec's power is how quiet it is, and that is helped in part by the decibel system, which provides up to a 50% decrease in sound over standard exhaust systems. If your intention is to be doing a bit of cruising with the RXP, you will find that it has the best fuel consumption of all Sea-Doo large displacement models at cruising speeds of over 5,000 rpm, which means overall savings in operation costs and money in your pocket. But the fuel economy was not why I was grinning from ear to ear; it was the exhilaration of pure speed. 
    On the GPS, running at wide-open throttle, I achieved an average speed of 67 ½ mph. And where that speed and muscle power became really evident and the most fun was when I pulled up beside our camera boat, doing about 50mph, then hit the throttle, and left it behind in my wake.
     You know, I remember the first time that I rode a Sea-Doo on "Power Boat Television" 15 years ago. I remember the feeling well, it left me breathless. I also remember the first thing I said when I got off that Sea-Doo, "I want to go again." Well here I am 15 years later with this RXP and it still leaves me just as breathless, and I really want to go again.

* taken from a transcript of our Power Profile on PowerBoat TV 2004 Episode 12 - Order a Copy of the Show