Make Your Mark This Summer

Get down to a P1 AquaX event this summer and check out the action! A brand-new style of watercraft competition for sea-riding enthusiasts who want to pull back the throttle and open it up...

Powerboat P1 is the company behind the launch of the AquaX series. The company has a rich history in promoting powerboat racing, which includes hosting over 85 world championship events in their 8 years of business. But after acquiring the rights to the successful Formula Four-Stroke championships in 2009, they turned their attentions to building a low cost, powerboat racing series starting here in the UK. By 2010, the series was rebranded to P1 Superstock, they launched the ‘Grand Prix of the Sea’, a festival of watersports touring high profile venues across the country. This summer the Aqua X championships will join the Grand Prix of the Sea and take its place alongside the Superstock series on the itinerary of events. And as with SuperStock, P1’s interest in watercraft competition is based on building a sport from the ground up, hence AquaX will be unlike any watercraft competition that’s gone before and will be specifically geared towards attracting amateur riders to come along and have a go! And who knows, you just might become the first P1 AquaX champion!

Maybe it’s due to the success of the BBC One programme where Sir Alan Sugar sets weekly targets to a group of potential apprentices to help fi nd his ultimate choice. But whatever the reason we are pleased to see a come-back in apprenticeships in Marine Engineering, even more interesting in the PWC industry.

Jacob Peters, aged 16, recently got a great opportunity to become an apprentice when he started working for the south’s independent jet ski repair engineer (www.jetski-repairman.co.uk) last September.

How good does that sound? What 16 year old wouldn’t want to learn an exciting trade with the occasional on-water test thrown in?

He goes to college at Paragon Skills (0800 7832545) one day a week, gets paid proper apprenticeship wages and will come out with an NVQ3, if all goes well.

He is learning to strip and rebuild 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines, with clearances, tolerances, torques and squish. He is learning to rebuild carb’s, jet-pumps and listen for faults.

The course also covers repairs to fi breglass, servicing and winterising skis. The latest thing on the agenda is a 4tec turbo conversion on a Seadoo GTX, with all the challenges that come with it, like adding a Rising Rate Fuel Pressure Regulator (RRFPR) and upgrading the pistons. There is a lot to learn but there’s never a dull moment.

Jacob is working with Marcel Diner,

Jet Ski Engineer 07946 703079

The best way to ensure your local waters stay open for riding and to have fun with like-minded people is to set up a local club. HIPWC is a great example of how a club should work and MIke FarIa has some sound advice for those of you starting out.

The Six Steps on how to launch a pwc club...

The HIPWC Committee share their experiences on what they have learned during their three year journey to launch and manage a PWC club.

Riding Rob Flores triple cylinder SX-R is a unique experience. The ex-factory rider has been researching the ultimate set up for years and has perfected it for racing use.

Over the years we have seen many changes to the IJSBA rule book. The most interesting one came up in the beginning of this decade with the prohibition of the modified class. The main idea behind the particular decision was to lower the overall cost of the race craft and to give the opportunity to lower budget teams and privateers to build fast race craft. On the other hand this rule meant bad news for the aftermarket companies that perfected special parts for race use. By the middle of the decade the cost of a Superstock race craft rose substantially and its reliability was a serious issue. In the last two years the rules have once again been altered a lot and this year the Open Class is actually “wide” Open, enabling race craft builders to use aftermarket hulls, bigger engines etc.