With a fresh new year ahead of us, The Watercraft Journal is following tradition to skim back through the pages of the past 12 months and see what motivated, inspired, interested and engaged our readers.
Reviewing the numbers gleaned from year-end reports from our year of publishing The Watercraft Journal to find out which articles worked – and which ones fell flat – helps focus WCJ attention on what most of you honestly care about. And it continues to be clear that what most of you care about is reveals of highly-anticipated new watercraft, insightful reviews on the latest production vehicles, and the latest gossip on potential future watercraft.
While PWC race-based articles continue to hold a strong core of regular readers, racing coverage again failed to make it to the top of the heap, despite some definitely intense debates over rules, sanctioning bodies, and what the future of PWC racing holds.
While annual brand name lineups again held the lion’s share of our readers’ interest, it was honor, respect and sorrow for the loss of Tyron Motzouris – and support for his brother Dustin, his wife Dominique and his children and extended family that pegged our farewell article as one of the most important of the year.
In addition, our continuation of the daily Look Back feature, highlighting articles from previous years, has renewed significant interest in several past topics, and we have added a special section to our “Top Articles of the Year” feature to highlight those hot flashbacks.
Now, without further ado – the top WCJ stories of 2024!
Sliding into the last spot on our list, the June 5 Kawasaki reveal, Gallery: Kawasaki Rolls Out 2025 Ultra Lineup, New Colors, Pricing & Introduces Angler JetSki. While Kawasaki’s release of the 2024 stripped-down, frills-free Ultra 310X hot rod, this year in Ebony/Neon Red, priced at $19,199, and the Ultra 310LX-S returning decked out in Ebony/Lime Green for $20,199 drew some interest, it was the new 160LX-S Angler JetSki that ratcheted up interest, both online and on dealership floors.
As noted at the time by WCJ Managing Editor Kevin Shaw, “the Angler is possibly one of the most surprising – yet, smartly timed – new entries to the rapidly-growing JetSki lineup.”
Marketed with the tagline, “Catch The Good Times” (a play on Kawasaki’s long time “Let The Good Times Roll” maxim), the Angler packaging included a 7-inch UHD2 7cv Garmin Echomap Navigation (Fish Finder Chartplotter) occupying the right-hand rearview mirror. Pages of navigation, seafloor mapping and tide/current charts are quickly and easily accessible through the full color screen. Other features included the 1,498cc in-line four-cylinder marine engine, 22.5 degree deep-v hull to assist in rough-water handling, Kawasaki Smart Reverse with Deceleration, and side floats for added stability while fishing.
Next on the list was the March 12 edition of Vicious Rumors & Vile Gossip: Leaked Patents Reveal The Most Advanced Kawasaki JetSkis Ever (Video). Sticking with the early green theme of the 2024 year, WCJ’s discovery that Kawasaki’s legal department had filed not one, not two but 22 patents for new designs, innovations and technologies for future JetSkis ramped up even more interest in the brand.
The patent filing gave a clear roadsign of the direction of Kawasaki’s design and feature path, with 3-way adjustable seat design, gullwing doors, multimount handlebars and rear storage track system exclusive to the Ultra Deck, the Jetsounds 4S stereo system, LED running lights being incorporated into the front bumper, and the overall aesthetic of both the redesigned Ultra and STX JetSkis, respectively. But the news that the brand is now working on a self-driving JetSki – a watercraft that can be operated without a rider by using a low-speed battery-powered electric drive-and-control system [a secondary propulsion system to the internal combustion engine – probably played an even larger part in the popularity of this article.
Almost garnering equal interest from WCJ readers, the next two entries on the 2024 Top Articles list – WCJ coverage Intrdoucing the 2025 Sea-Doo Lineup and Introducing the 2025 Yamaha WaveRunner Lineup – highlight the fact that Manufacturer priorities, decisions and innovation remain a driving interest in the PWC Community.
First up was the Aug. 12 Yamaha reveal, with a letdown SVHO that failed to answer Sea-Doo’s 325-horsepower benchmark while the FX and GP received updated Connext infotainment centers and revamped speaker systems, and the EX line morphed into a fully redesigned, lighter, more nimble Rec Lite series – six 2 and 3-up WaveRunners branded Jet Blaster – to fill the entry-level void.
On the Sea-Doo side, WCJ’s Aug. 20 reveal showed that Sea-Doo was headed in an entirely different direction than the one taken by Yamaha. While Yamaha’s focus was trimmed down Rec Lites, Yamaha doubled down on their sport fishing focus, both in the way of a newly re-themed Switch tritoon wholly outfitted for all-day fishing excursions and a tippy-top-of-the-line Sea-Doo Fish Pro Apex – a model even more equipped than the Trophy.
In addition, Sea-Doo’s most luxurious runabout, the GTX Limited, now comes equipped with both the wild 325-horsepower 1630 ACE introduced last year exclusively to the X-models as well as the hydraulically-damped steering system and a gorgeous 10.25-inch wide LCD touchscreen dashboard.
Settling in at the top of the model-based articles of 2024 was an in-depth review and gallery of the 2025 Kawasaki Ultra 160LX-S Angler JetSki, with a focus on the model’s superiority in offshore and rough water, thanks to the Ultra platform. The Ultra’s 22.5-degree deadrise and true Deep-V hull permits the JetSki to track smoothly through cresting 5-footers at speed without nose-plowing, erratic bow hunting or unhooking the pump. Above 15-20mph, the Ultra can sluice through chop unlike any ST3-based Sea-Doo.
And while Manufacturer reveals and model reviews were clearly a key interest for readers this past year, there was no doubt that WCJ’s Farewell To Tyron Motzouris drew those from the PWC family – both inside and outside the competition arena – to the website and WCJ’s social media feeds to remember, share stories, offer support to the extended Motzouris family, and pay tribute to one of the most innovative – and most kind – members of the PWC community.
And that rounds out our list of the most-read, most visited articles of 2024. As mentioned earlier, our daily Looking Back feature continues to draw readers back to old articles, sometimes even outperforming that day’s feature articles. During the past 12 months, the top re-visited articles from earlier years were:
The Ultimate Sea-Doo Diagnostic Tool for the DIY’er – (2021)
Gallery: Sea-Doo LRV Supercharged 4-Stroke Conversion – (2018)
Where In The World Did Honda Go? – 2018
Download Your Yamaha WaveRunner Owner’s or Service Manuals – 2021
Gallery: 2022 Sea-Doo Fish Pro Trophy vs. 2022 Sea-Doo Fish Pro Lineup (Video) – 2022
