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jetskier · 04-06-2006, 05:30 PM

Hi all,

Sorry about the late entry into this discussion, but I have been summerizing my jetski. Actually, not yet.

The invention of the jetski is credited to Clayton Jacobsen. He was a motocross rider who reasoned that falling off a motorcycle was considerably more painful than falling off something going fast in water.

The original jetski prototypes were based upon an aluminum hull and fixed handle pole. Clayton did work on an adjustable handle pole; but never got anything really to market. In the early 70s he licensed his designs to Kawasaki and they produced the first commercial models. The original model was based upon a 400 cc engine. There is a good article on all this at the following link:

http://www.watercraftworld.com/output.cfm?id=151543

Kawasaki introduced their standup into the market in 1973:

http://www.kawasaki.ca/museum_pwc.html

My recollection is that there was a falling out between Jacobsen and Kawasaki and he litigated them (without success).

Sea-Doo claims to have introduced the first sit down models into the market during the period of 1968 to 1970:

http://www.seadoo.com/en-US/Watercra...a-Doo/History/

So, the way I read the chronology. Jacobsen gets credit for the first jetski in the mid 60s but never reaches commercial viability. Sea-Doo introduces the first commercial jetski (sit down) in 1968 and Kawasaki introduces the first standup (based upon Jacobsen's designs) in 1973.

Maybe it is time to just go riding

My first jetski was a Kawasaki 650 SX...don't see many standups on the lake anymore.

Regards,
Jetskier

04-06-2006, 05:30 PM	#47
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 858 Thanks: 58 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Jetski History Hi all, Sorry about the late entry into this discussion, but I have been summerizing my jetski. Actually, not yet. The invention of the jetski is credited to Clayton Jacobsen. He was a motocross rider who reasoned that falling off a motorcycle was considerably more painful than falling off something going fast in water. The original jetski prototypes were based upon an aluminum hull and fixed handle pole. Clayton did work on an adjustable handle pole; but never got anything really to market. In the early 70s he licensed his designs to Kawasaki and they produced the first commercial models. The original model was based upon a 400 cc engine. There is a good article on all this at the following link: http://www.watercraftworld.com/output.cfm?id=151543 Kawasaki introduced their standup into the market in 1973: http://www.kawasaki.ca/museum_pwc.html My recollection is that there was a falling out between Jacobsen and Kawasaki and he litigated them (without success). Sea-Doo claims to have introduced the first sit down models into the market during the period of 1968 to 1970: http://www.seadoo.com/en-US/Watercra...a-Doo/History/ So, the way I read the chronology. Jacobsen gets credit for the first jetski in the mid 60s but never reaches commercial viability. Sea-Doo introduces the first commercial jetski (sit down) in 1968 and Kawasaki introduces the first standup (based upon Jacobsen's designs) in 1973. Maybe it is time to just go riding My first jetski was a Kawasaki 650 SX...don't see many standups on the lake anymore. Regards, Jetskier