| Before you go spending your hard-earned cash you might want to glance through these pages to learn a bit more about personal watercraft.
There are four main types of PW available. The choice of which one you should go for is a personal one, dependent on your circumstances and the circumstances in which you want to use your ski. Ask yourself questions about your strength, fitness, lifestyle, cash-flow, what you want to use the craft for and you should be able to find a PW that fits your requirements.
Standup Craft
A solo craft is also known as a stand-up for the simple reason that it has no seat and you must stand whilst riding it. The handlebars on a solo are attached to the top of a handlepole. The handlepole itself is hinged where it connects to the body of the craft and can be lifted to suit most riders heights. Because of the narrow hull and the high centre of gravity, a solo is hard to master and require some athletic ability. Once you're up though, solos are a whole heap of fun. Solo machines are also capable of performing incredible freestyle tricks even if their riders aren't. Solos have the smallest power outputs of any PW though many 'aftermarket' parts are available for tuning.
Sport craft
A sport craft is also designed to carry one rider. Unlike solos, sports craft have a seat. They're not as difficult to master as a solo, but they are still relatively unstable.
Deep water boarding can be a little troublesome for heavier riders, but once aboard and underway the petite dimensions of a sport craft means it can corner more aggressively.
Two seaters
Two seaters Easy to ride and still a barrel of laughs, 2-seaters can be enjoyed by most people at most times. Not quite as grippy as a sports craft, a 2-seater still nips around the corners with enough speed to keep a firm grip. And the extra perch means that a friend or loved-one can ride pillion too. The advantage of a longer seat and hull is increased stability at both high and low speeds. Boarding the craft from dry-land or in deep water is a cinch, although at slow speeds, with another bod onboard stability can suffer. Larger engined 2-seaters are formidable watercraft, whereas those fitted with smaller lumps are much more gentle. 2-Seaters should not be used to tow inflatables, skiers or boarders as there is not enough room for the pilot, spotter and the person being towed.
Three and four Seaters
If 2-seats just aren't enough, then a 3 or 4-seater should provide enough seating for the whole family. Immensely stable, these craft epitomise the new breed of easy-to-use PW and are the most popular selling models.
3 and 4-seater craft are extremely versatile as they still perform well with a solo rider aboard. You can cruise, thrash around or tow with a multi-seater. One aspect to take into consideration with these larger craft, is that they are big machines. They take a bit of muscle power to launch and retrieve and a little more space in the garage.
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