The world’s most popular personal watercraft brand turns 50 years old this year, and because of which, we’re giving you a quick glimpse at Sea-Doo’s original machines thanks to the Bombardier family and some vintage video footage. Above is a snapshot from half a century ago as the first Sea-Doo watercraft were in progress. Unlike the top-of-the-line facility in northern Mexico, the original Sea-Doo were assembled at the Roski factory in Roxton Falls, Quebec. According to the original Facebook post, this limited bombardier subsidiary was specialized in fiberglass.
Today’s modern Sea-Doo have come a long way, particularly in the power department. Current Sea-Doo push an impressive 300-horsepower from a supercharged-and-intercooled 1,630cc 3-cylinder, while the original Sea-Doo came with a Rotax engine displacing 320cc, an aluminum 2-stroke, air-cooled, single-cylinder. In all, horsepower output was a paltry 18 @ 6,000rpm. A shadow of today’s 68-70mph top speeds, the 1968 watercraft could reach a maximum speed of 40 km/h (or 25-30mph). Of course, the Sea-Doo was also the first watercraft equipped with a jet engine to be marketed, making it quite unique for its time, hailing a retail price of $995.
And if you liked the above factoids and snapshot, make sure to watch this vintage news reel on the machine in action:
