MINI-JET BOATS BLAST ONTO SCENE IN BIG WAY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993                   TAG: 9302210091
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
MINI-JET BOATS BLAST ONTO SCENE IN BIG WAY
Take a look at the new Bayliner Jazz or the Sea Rayder by Sea Ray and you might wonder which way it is headed.
Is it a personal watercraft evolving into a mini-runabout? Or is it a tiny, quick-reacting runabout for people who are 40-something going on 16, the kind who like to take a romp in a personal watercraft but don't want to get wet?
It's really a bit of both, not to mention being the year's hottest marine offering.
What we have is a craft with the kind of end-swapping performance that matches a jet ski-type watercraft, yet will hit 40 mph, carry three people, pull a water skier and keep the driver and occupants pretty dry while doing it.
Here are the rough dimensions of the craft (We use the word "rough" because the boats are so new the manufacturers are giving out conflicting statistics):
LENGTH: Just over 13 feet.
BEAM: About 6 feet.
POWER: A 90-hp jet engine by Mercury.
DRAFT: Somewhere around 10 inches.
WEIGHT: About 900 pounds.
FUEL CAPACITY: 17 gallons.
PRICE: $7,995, including engine and trailer.
PREFORMANCE: 0 to 30 mph in 12 seconds.
DEALERS: Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club at Hardy for the Bayliner Jazz; Smith Mountain Yacht Club at Moneta for the Sea Rayder.
The biggest problem boater and dealers face with these little-big rigs is finding a ready supply. The interest is expected to be so great dealers might not be able to meet consumer demands.
"Sea Ray has been trying to get them out to all of its dealers," said Dick Arnold of Smith Mountain Yacht Club. "I know of one Florida dealer who has ordered 100. Orders are heavy, and Sea Ray won't be able to fill them all."
George Welch, owner of Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club, joined other Bayliner dealers in Maryland recently in a scramble to bring home the Jazz. He will have one in the boat show; and Arnold will display a Sea Rayder.
"It is a real performer," said Welch. "It will turn on a dime. You can't turn it over, they tell you. It is going to be safe."
"I think you can have as much fun with this as you can a jet ski," said Arnold. "Before I can sell one, I have to have you sit down and watch a video, then have you sign a release that you saw it. It's not a toy. That's what they are trying to say."
The price is expected to make these craft highly popular with young, first-time watercraft buyers, but the size could attract people already into boating who want a fun-type craft just a little bigger than a personal watercraft.
Welch doesn't see any reason why it wouldn't make a nifty fishing boat for sheltered water, such as ponds, small lakes and swampy areas. Maybe even a duck boat.
But performance is expected to be a greater attraction than size.
Instead of a prop, the power plant features a big nozzle blasting a stream of water out the back. The nozzle is flush with the bottom of the boat, so there is nothing sticking down to strike objects.
Sea Ray likes to talk about the steering, which it says is fast, like an Indy car. Because there is no rudder, the steering wheel redirects the nozzle, giving quick, handling thrills, including controlled spins. There are passenger grab handles to hold onto.
These boats even has stowage space, and you can tow then behind the smallest car.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB