Pop quiz, hot shot: what’s the number one complaint people have about the Sea-Doo Spark? Easy. Its plastic hull. Right? Right. It’s not plastic, per se but a “low density and high-impact composite material that includes polypropylene and long glass fiber reinforcements.” But for the layman, Sea-Doo’s proprietary (and recyclable) Polytec material is “plastic.” And whether you’re tuning in to Yamaha’s viral videos, checking out pics of Spark hulls being punctured by the thrust of more powerful runabouts or failed patch jobs, it’s very likely that your faith in a Polytec hull can be a little shaky.
Consider several reasons why Sea-Doo opted to go with the unconventional hull material: 1) weight savings. The molded Polytec hull helps keep the Spark (2-up) just a smidgen over 400 pounds. That’s ridiculously light, especially for a runabout. 2) It’s environmentally friendly. Being recyclable is a very nice thing to have on a resume. And if appealing to young, environmentally-conscious buyers is the goal, being recyclable is a good feather to have in your cap. And 3) It’s cheap. OK, “cheap” is a dirty word, so maybe “cost effective” is more PR friendly. Either way, it helps keep the cost of each Spark down.
But what happens when the mere presence of the Polytec hull thwarts potential sales? Trust us, it happens and there’s no shortage of folks willing to go on and on about how “terrible” it is. The Watercraft Journal caught all sorts of grief for naming the Sea-Doo Spark as the 2014 Watercraft of The Year, with most (if not all of its detractors siting the plastic hull as being it’s number one disqualifier). If we’re fielding hate mail like this, we can’t imagine what BRP is going through. So is there a reasonable solution that satisfies the above criteria?
Well, not entirely. But close. If today’s standup aftermarket has shown us anything is that quality (and durable) carbon fiber hulls are the future of lightweight, top performance personal watercraft. Hull shapers have maximized the science of strakes, chines and pump design to eject freestylers into the air with incredible speed and accuracy, all the while withstanding astounding force and impact. Hull makers like Rick Roy Products (RRP), Trinity, Krash Industries, XScream, TigerCraft, and Hurricane Industries have each carved out a piece of the incredibly intimate standup market with marked success.
We talked with Derrick Kemnitz Jr., owner of the aforementioned Hurricane Industries, about the probability of a carbon fiber hull for a Spark. He explained, “It’s definitely doable, nothing different from what I do now, just on a slightly bigger scale – the only thing I see as a concern would be that the Spark is a super inexpensive ski, so the majority of the sales are to the guys who don’t want to shell out the big cash for the big boats. Same with the guys on the 550’s and X2s, Which generally means they won’t want to afford a $8,000 replacement carbon hull.”
And yes, the estimate for $8,000 would be a deal breaker. But what if that was dropped down to $2,000 (or less)? Kemnitz explained that most of that cost would cover research and development, testing and finally production of the hull. With a larger quantity order, and more importantly, a deposit to cover initial costs, that initial quote dramatically drops. “It’s not cheap to start production on a new item,” he continued. “Lots of guys ask me to make a fixed-steering Hurricane, but no one is willing to make a deposit on a hull, which is why we won’t have a fixed-steering hull.”
But what if there was enough demand? “If [we] have enough people who are serious about a carbon Spark hull, I can definitely do it,” Kemnitz concluded. “I would need a donor hull that can be trashed and like I said before, a [significant] deposit.” But tacking on another $2,000 on top of a $4,999 Spark is, as Kemnitz explained, counter-intuitive to the philosophy behind the Spark’s price point.
At its core, concern over the durability of the Spark’s hull boils down to limitation. Even in the Spark’s owner’s guide, aggressive and competitive riding is highly discouraged. Many detractors feel the restrictions caused by the Polytec hull keep them from fully enjoying the small, nimble craft in a manner they would prefer. Replacing the Polytec with a carbon hull would immediately resolve this, but again wouldn’t be enough to justify such a substantial price hike.
Rather, a completed package ready for “aggressive and competitive riding” offered through a licensed dealership could quantify the significant price jump. Imagine walking into your local Sea-Doo showroom and spotting a 2-up Spark sitting on a glossy carbon fiber hull, wrapped in unique vinyl decal fix complete with faux carbon accents. Throughout the ski, a complete WORX Racing Spark package: a billet steering kit, sponsons, a rideplate and intake grate kit (with pump seal kit), a billet air ribbon replacement collar, and an optional rear exhaust kit. Beneath it’s removable top deck, a V-tech Tuned 110-horsepower ECU. Sounds pretty cool, right?
(Obviously, the parts listed above are merely cherry picked from the available off-the-shelf aftermarket performance products accessible today.)
As it were, this would bring a standard $4,999 2-up Spark up and over the $9,500 mark. To the recreational rider, this would only make a 155HP GTI the better option. But to those wanting the fun, playful Spark but with a lot more oomph without any of the worry of cracking the hull after their first big jump, a dealer-installed “Carbon Edition” Spark could be just the right ticket. For the would-be racer, this would be a ready-to-run buy on Saturday, race on Sunday package. Already Spark classes have been seen in Japan, China and Thailand, with many in the States warming up to the idea as well.
Granted, the Spark was never intended to be a racer. It’s not targeted as such. But racing is in Sea-Doo’s DNA and denying the Spark the opportunity to shine – if even in a limited capacity – is contrary to BRP’s core characteristic of building recreational vehicles capable of extraordinary performance.
The undertone of this article is kind of missing Sea-Doos secret reason for the Spark; to cater to the hardcore X4 fanatics like myself out there. Yeah I get it.. It’s an “entry level” ski. Really by price only though. I’d (and many like me) much much rather own a Spark than ANY other new sit down on the market. I have zero interest I the modern “mini boat” PWC. For guys like me, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to buy a Spark, double the price plus 15% for a 180hp turbo kit and then shell out another few grand for a carbon hull. That would still be cheaper than the pig X skis and it would absolutely murder any other new ski to at least 50mph. Throw on hydraulic lever trim and a decent steering system and we have quite possibly the greatest Sea-Doo ever made. If BRP had the balls to offer something like this with a warranty from the factory?? You kidding!! They could price it in the 10-12k range and market it as a limited run spec race Spark. Boom!
For guys like me who lived through the 90s where a SuperStock 800 X4 could run well into the $30k range and those engines would have to be rebuilt every 5 to 10 hours and run on a race gas mix.. Comparatively speaking, the Spark is a gift from God!!
At the end of the day though, would Sea-Doo dare take the wind out of the X skis sails? How would a 180hp, 400lb carbon ski that is relatively challenging to ride compared to the 900lb boats the modern buyer is accustomed to make any sense?
I personally could give a rats a$$. Build it Sea-Doo and we will come!
I love the idea of the small sporty Sea Doo Spark. So much so, I purchased 2 of them. Then one weekend, I was skipping across Lake Mead with one of the Sparks, (something I have done for over 30 years on a PWC) and the recycled plastic hull cracked big time on a wake. That shouldn’t happen.
When the recycled plastic cracks, it keeps going and keeps going. The hull is completely ruined. I would recommend looking into a PWC not made from recycled plastic. Milk jugs don’t make a durable hull.
Ron, I’m way late to this article. But I wanted to ask if you have pictures of the cracked hull.
I have two 2017 Spark Trixx and have caught 10 feet of air too many times to count and the hulls are still intact. And I have landed too flat more than once to where it kind of knocked the air out of me, as have many others that have posted videos on the net.
Pictures would be great, plus any more detail of what happened (wake size, speed you were going, how you landed, where the crack is located, etc…).
I get so tired of unsubstantiated claims against any manufacturer of PWCs. And it seems that Sea-Doo catches the most flak without proof. I’m not talking about their older models that had SC issues.
The reality is that all PWCs manufactured have pros and cons. It’s just reality. But they all make good products. If they didn’t, the manufacturers would be out of business in this highly competitive market.
The latest Sea-Doo naysayer is some YouTuber that calls himself Beowolf. Two years ago when he started his YouTube channel, he was a Sea-Doo fan boi. Then he became a yam head overnight, even though he modified and beat the snot out of his RXT-X and RXP-X without them giving him any trouble. And I have caught him in multiple lies concerning Sea-Doo products (i.e. the 2020 Fish Pro has a polytech hull, and that someone he knows had a Spark sink-no way with all of the foam in the hull unless it was removed).