Kawasaki Jet Ski (JS400)
JS400 (original standup model)
Why it matters
The Jet Ski didn't exist before 1973, and by 1990 every lake in America had one screaming across it. Kawasaki's JS400 was the first commercially successful personal watercraft — a stand-up vessel powered by a motorcycle engine driving a jet pump.
The concept came from Clayton Jacobson II, an Australian banker who wanted a powered surfboard. Kawasaki licensed his design and created a product category that generated billions in revenue, ruined the tranquility of every lake and beach, spawned an entire subculture of freestyle riding, and became the go-to villain for everyone who thinks water should be quiet.
'Jet Ski' became the generic name for all personal watercraft the way 'Xerox' became the word for copying. Kawasaki trademarked it and everyone ignored the trademark.
What it was like
The original JS400 was a stand-up personal watercraft. You stood on a tray behind the handlebars, squeezed the throttle, and tried not to fall off. Falling off was the primary activity for the first several hours of ownership.
The stand-up Jet Ski required core strength, balance, and a willingness to swallow lake water. When you got it right, the feeling was unique — part motorcycle, part surfboard, part complete disregard for anyone trying to fish nearby.
The later sit-down models (Sea-Doo pioneered these) turned personal watercraft from an athletic pursuit into an accessible nuisance. Today's models make 300 horsepower and do 70 mph. The original JS400 made 30 mph and felt fast.
The crew
Rider
Stand-up Jet Ski riding is a skill. The throttle controls both speed and stability — let go and the craft stops, which also means you lose steerage. Turns are made by shifting body weight and turning the handlebars while on throttle. Freestyle riders perform backflips, barrel rolls, and submarining (driving the nose underwater and launching). It's the BMX of the water — raw, physical, and slightly ridiculous.
Patina notes
Old Jet Skis rot. The fiberglass hulls crack, the two-stroke engines seize, and the jet pumps corrode. A 1980s standup Jet Ski found in a barn has maybe a 50/50 chance of running again with a carburetor rebuild and new seals.
The vintage standup community maintains them as affordable toys — a running JS550 can be had for under $1,000. The newer sit-down models depreciate like cars.
Preservation reality
Nobody is preserving Jet Skis in a museum sense. They're consumer products, not heritage vessels. But the vintage standup community is passionate and active, particularly in freestyle riding.
Old JS550s and JS550SXs are the preferred platforms for freestyle because they're cheap, simple, and rebuildable. Kawasaki still makes stand-up models. The original concept — one person, one engine, water — hasn't changed.
Where to see one
- • Any lake, unfortunately
- • IJSBA World Finals, Lake Havasu City, AZ (annual)
- • Craigslist (cheap)
Preservation organizations
- • International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA)
Sources
- Kawasaki Motors (2026-03-05)
Related vessels
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Before Deadliest Catch premiered on Discovery Channel in 2005, almost nobody outside Alaska knew what Bering Sea crab fishing looked like. Afterward, boats like the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, and Time Bandit became household names. The show turned a brutal, obscure commercial fishery into reality television. What it got right is that the job is genuinely insane. The Bering Sea king crab and opilio (snow crab) fisheries operate in some of the worst conditions on earth. Winter storms generate 40-foot seas. Wind chill drops to minus 40. Spray freezes on contact with the superstructure, adding tons of topside weight that can capsize a boat if not knocked off. The crews use baseball bats and sledgehammers to break ice off the rails, rigging, and wheelhouse. This is a real thing that happens on a regular basis. The fatality rate for Bering Sea crab fishing has historically been 80 times the national average for workplace deaths. Coast Guard reforms, rationalization of the fishery (switching from a short derby season to individual fishing quotas), and better safety equipment have brought the rate down, but it's still the most dangerous fishery in North America. Between 1990 and 2010, dozens of boats and over a hundred lives were lost. The economics are as extreme as the conditions. Under the old derby system, the entire king crab season was compressed into a few days. Boats raced to catch as much as possible before the season closed. Crews could earn $30,000-$80,000 for a few weeks of work. They could also earn nothing if the catch was poor, or die if the weather turned. The quota system, implemented in 2005, spread the season out and reduced the death rate. It also reduced the gold-rush paydays. Now the money is steadier but lower. The boats still go out in terrible weather because that's where the crab are.
Bombardier Sea-Doo
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Carolina Skiff
The Carolina Skiff is the most popular boat in America that nobody brags about owning. Founded in 1983 in Wadesboro, North Carolina, the company had one idea: build the cheapest, simplest fiberglass boat possible and sell a ton of them. It worked. Carolina Skiff moves more units than brands costing three times as much. The design philosophy is aggressive simplicity. Flat bottom. No wood anywhere in the hull (wood rots, which is why cheap boats fall apart). One-piece fiberglass layup. Self-bailing cockpit. The boats are sold without engines because the company figured out that letting buyers rig their own outboard kept the sticker price low and the customization high. A bare 17-footer can be had for under $10,000. Rig a used Yamaha on the back and you're fishing for less than a decent used car. People who own Boston Whalers and Grady-Whites look down on Carolina Skiffs. This is documented, quantifiable snobbery. The Carolina Skiff owner's response is universal: they're out fishing right now while the Grady-White is in the shop getting its third trim tab adjusted. The Skiff doesn't ride as well in rough water (flat bottom, remember). It doesn't look as pretty at the dock. It will never be featured in a glossy boat magazine. But it floats in six inches of water, it's nearly impossible to sink, and it costs less than the electronics package on a center console. The Corolla of boats. The Timex of boats. The "it just works" of boats. Carolina Skiff understood something that premium brands never will: most fishing happens in calm water within five miles of the ramp.