It’s incredible to think that 14 months ago we at The Watercraft Journal published the first spy shot of what could only be described as a personal watercraft-powered center console boat. The WaveRunner (shown below) featured a very wide (too wide for a conventional two-place PWC trailer) hull with large, flat outer-most chines giving the craft the utmost in stability at a standstill.
The deck too was completely level, with a wide corner-to-corner platform at the transom, wide planks on either side of the center bench (lifted directly from a full-sized FX 3-seater WaveRunner) and a weirdly stubby bow. The nose of the craft (from what is shown) features two rounded structural struts running from the handlebars and center console to the bow line. No hood or storage cover is seen.
For a full year, we had little more than this image to go off of. Despite a rather cheeky reveal (we laughingly faux-speculated “could this be the return of the Sea Saucer?”), we couldn’t shake out any new leaks. Back in April, we revisited this mysterious WaveRunner in an episode of The Watercraft Journal IRL but again, had little more than, “Yamaha really wants to sink its teeth into the PWC fishing market.”
That is until two days ago…
A message blipped our phone; “Hey,” it began, “I found that Yamaha boat/ski thing you reported about a while back.” Aboard the wildly-wrapped Jet Rider Nation Switch tritoon, our spy watched as the black Sprinter van lowered the Yamaha watercraft into the water at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Three adult riders climbed aboard, tucking up tightly one behind the other, and idled their way outside of the No Wake Zone.
Our spy was easily made by the Yamaha test crew and sped away; but after loading up the Switch onto the trailer, our photographer waited for the Yamaha crew to return. All be them grainy, he managed to catch a sequence of images of the Yamaha full laden with three adult men at idle speeds. Impressively, the clearly unique hull design did not kick up any wake or over-the-bow wash, and idled dead level.
Closer inspection of the images reveal almost little-to-no more details than last year’s spy shot. What differences we can see are a revised dash panel (far wider than the near-vertical dashboard in the original image), what are likely speaker pods before the driver’s knees, and a possible clear plastic windscreen. Our spy also noted the faux-teak traction mats lining the transom and wrap-around deck.
When compared to a traditional FX WaveRunner, this machine is massive. Our photographer noted, “it’s a lot like a flats boat” noting the flat, open deck design encompassing the center seat and recessed footwells. The trailer also carried a second of the same prototype, just not side-by-side. The trailer was a full-sized boat trailer, not the usual lightweight PWC trailer, and the tow rig was a silver Ford F-350 dually.
We still don’t know for certain if Yamaha will go forward with the Jet Fish name that adorns the as-branded model sold exclusively to Australian markets, but considering the existence of the trim package and all of the legal headache that goes with filing for such a brand, it’s a strong likelihood of this being touted as the American Jet Fish for 2026 or ’27, depending if the market picks up this year.
As noted previously, Yamaha not only wants to match what Sea-Doo is offering the recreational fishing market in regards to a PWC kitted-out for fishing, but a truly dedicated craft that offers the reliability and ease of a jet driven propulsion system in the familiar packaging of a flats boat (albeit a little smaller). Creating a vehicle almost completely out of whole cloth is no small investment, so it’s an indicator that Yamaha means business.
While this craft certainly doesn’t speak to the vast majority of mainstream PWC enthusiasts, it’s fair to assume that it’s not meant to. Rather, this is targeting the multi-multi-billion dollar recreational fishing industry, which it has already garnered a significant foothold with its jet-driven FSH center console boats. This craft will likely wedge itself inside of the lineup in-between the FSH and the Jet Fish-equipped FX HO. Of course, time will tell.
