It was a fling with a personal watercraft that first made Daryl Johnson fall in love with boating two decades ago. “I’d gotten myself a Sea-Doo, but I found that the fun ended as soon as the sun went down,” he said. “So then I bought a mother ship to go with it.”
And the romance hasn’t fizzled. These days Johnson has a Sea Ray 52 Sedan Bridge. But he still doesn’t go anywhere without his Sea-Doo, a new GTI, which he launches and retrieves with the help of a MarQuipt davit.
“I stuck with the personal watercraft because I wanted something more exciting than a traditional tender,” he said. “It’s also more slender than an inflatable, so it fits well on the swim platform.”
Walk through almost any marina and it’s clear that Johnson isn’t the only one using a personal watercraft, or PWC, to augment or even replace the standard inflatable tender. Though they may not be for everybody, there’s no denying that these water-bikes are an increasingly common accessory on boats 38 feet and larger.
Traditionalists may snort, but there are many advantages to a powerful, shoal-draft runabout that operates without a propeller. A PWC can make it convenient to hop ashore or to another boat. It can make is possible to explore shallow water. It can open up a large world of water sports, and allow the captain of a slower boat to blow back his hair once in a while.
Of course, adding a PWC does take planning. There are scores of models out there, all with varying capabilities. There are also many different systems to store and launch these craft, from cradles on the swim platform to cranes up on deck. Anyone interested is in for several weeks of shopping, intense preparation and more than a little expense. What follows are some thoughts to help sort it all out.
TENDER ALTERNATIVE
First things first: A personal watercraft is not a tender in the truest sense. While they excel at white-knuckle thrills, these hot rods can carry only two or three people at once — fewer than even the smallest “rubber boat” — and they’re not exactly known for dry rides. Most PWC cannot truck groceries and equipment like a tender, nor are they surrounded by the forgiving inflatable tubes that take the worry out of bumping into yachts and docks.
Photo by FormulaPersonal watercraft have become popular additions to larger boats, and there are a variety of ways to carry them. The swim platform is a favorite.
