Trial by Error

A Little One-on-One Time with Sea-Doo’s RXT iS 255

Text by Kevin Shaw

Photography by Tim McKercher

For a red-headed Irish guy, I’m pretty bad luck. I’ve broken quite a few skis in the short two years that I’ve been at the helm of Personal Watercraft Illustrated, and my losing streak hasn’t seemed to let up yet (those wanting further documentation need only review last year’s efforts with our doomed project ski, Copperhead). I’ve had jet nozzles rip themselves from their pumps, sponsons tear themselves into two, drain plugs mysteriously unthread, hulls crack, handlebars tear free from their mounts, geysers erupt inside of engine compartments, and off-throttle steering systems rocket me up crowded beaches.

At this year’s Sea-Doo press intro, I was explicitly warned that the four iS skis (two RXT iS 255s and two GTX Limited iS 255s) were hand-built show models, and weren’t up to the torturous rigors that us members of the media dish out at these events, going so far as to tell me directly that the ski I was planning on riding cost well over $100,000, and I would be held personally responsible for any damage I inflicted on it. While I knew this was a joke, I quietly panicked when, sure enough, I shattered the brittle plastic housing surrounding the tilt steering while riding too hard over some brutal chop. Certain that my privileges were revoked, I resigned myself to riding the rest of the afternoon in the camera boat until I took myself off “restriction.”

Above: With so many new controls and data logging to monitor, much of my four-hour trip was spent watching the guages.

Sea-Doo’s Tim McKercher took me aside shortly thereafter saying, “Listen, you are definitely not the first and you most certainly won’t be the last magazine editor to break a ski.” Feeling somewhat better that my error was fairly commonplace, I was promised by Tim that I would be given plenty of “one-on-one” time with the new techno-savvy iS boats, and I should just wait until then; leading me to believe this to be a hint that I should remain on the anemic 155-horsepower GTI for the rest of the day…

Months later, I received a warm invitation to join Tim on a pair of yellow RXTs (one 215hp RXT and the other the RXT iS 255) for a quick ride up and down the Indian River in Melbourne, Florida. As the Indian River doubles as the Atlantic inter-coastal waterway for much of the eastern Florida coast, the Indian River’s participation in the history of personal watercraft development is just as interesting. Nearly a decade earlier, Sea-Doo maintained a testing and development center right off of Highway 1 in Sebastian, Florida, a few minutes south of Melbourne. It was here that a twenty-something Tim McKercher would repeatedly run a designated endurance course to “shake down” each and every vehicle that Sea-Doo would release during the 1990s.

Above: Leaving Melbourne, Florida’s free-entry boat launch. Sometimes, you’ve got to love Florida.

Tim explained, “The course took an average of fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. We would have to run in and around a set of buoys, kill the motor, jump off, climb back on, fire it back up, hit the throttle, and more or less beat the crap out of it before coming back in. I got pretty good at it after a while. I must have logged thousands of hours out here.” The building sat at the bottom of a long stretch of undeveloped land. A contractor wanting to build a row of townhomes ended up paying “top dollar” for Sea-Doo’s property, only to discover the remaining undeveloped area was protected land, the site of a Seminole Indian burial ground.

Laughing, Tim explained that the building still stands today since the contractor had to sell off the property. With brewing storm clouds over head, Tim pointed to the bare concrete facility and dock saying, “The building where we used to work was OK. It was the land to the right of it that was protected. I heard Honda bought it up a while ago and is turning it into their watercraft testing facility.”

Above: Here’s a sneak peek at Honda’s new watercraft testing facility in Sebastian, Florida. Just next door is a Seminole Indian burial ground. “You moved the headstones, but you didn’t move the bodies!”

Journeying south on the Indian River is similar to my previous trips on the St. Johns and portions of the Tennessee River. The shorelines are rich in greenery and speckled with opulent waterfront homes. Yet, unlike the two previous trips, the Indian River was dotted with a series of tropical atolls, some inhabited while others were just attractive spots for mid-day picnics. As we rode further south, remnants of the coast’s long history of severe weather show. Beached sailboats, overturned ferries and bare pylons, their docks being torn from them years before, jut upwards from the river’s bottom.

It was in Sebastian, Florida, that Tim showed me some unique features that I hadn’t seen before in Florida. Passing a succession of multi-million dollar homes – many of which were in stages of reconstruction and foreclosure – we turned eastbound, crossing underneath the Sebastian Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. North of the inlet’s long breakwater are the white sandy shores where the annual Red Bull Tow-At is held. Turning back around, Tim took me to a spot called “Monster Hull.” Regarded as the biggest surf spot in Florida, we were witness to a continuing succession of large, hollow rollers that, given the right circumstances, could barrel an experienced surfer.

Above: Surf's up!

Turning his yellow-and-white RXT into the surging waves, Tim began to roll on their crests, dropping into the face and skating into the open right hand. Wanting to follow suit, I quickly discovered the RXT iS 255’s difficulty in doing so. Its unusual height and spongy suspension makes playing in the swells difficult, like its long hull design desperately wants to fight the curved face. Tim admitted that this would be an ideal spot for his 3-D or a nimble RXP in lieu of the larger three-seaters. Although the water is a heated swimming pool-like 80 degrees, the chilled winds whipping off of the blackened clouds warned us that the fickle southeastern weather was quickly turning on us and we needed to cut our trip short.

Doubling back on our southerly trail, we headed up north back to Melbourne. Having crossed over 40 miles of quickly worsening two- to three-foot chop, the clouds opened and emptied their contents on us. Frigid rain stung our exposed arms and faces as we sped north. But, as the water churned itself into a boil, the ease and comfort of the iS’ suspension truly came into play. While considered a novelty by many, the articulating suspension is honestly an outstanding innovation, absorbing much of the turbulence placed on one’s body.

Above: Storm clouds are moving in...

But, what should be hailed as Sea-Doo’s greatest achievement is the iBR braking system. No longer just a convenience, this innovation needs to be hailed as a necessary tool for any and all watercraft, similar to a left-handed reverse lever or off-throttle steering assist system. The incorporation of brakes onto a watercraft, especially one making any significant amount of horsepower, should be recognized as the next generation in PWC safety. Sea-Doo’s iBR works via a left-hand mounted throttle-type trigger on the steering bars and is as easy to use as the brake pedal in your car.

Despite the rain and charcoal-gray skies, my quick four-hour jaunt down the Indian River reminded me of the great many places unique to this country accessible to watercraft and that one day on the water is better than any day in the office.

Apparel and riding gear supplied by:

Slippery, Troy Lee Designs, Hurley, Underground Products