Sea-Doo GTX 155

A Beautiful Match – I had always joked with friends and family in the past, when they asked what I wanted for Christmas/birthday ... that they could just buy me a jetski ... in orange!! Strangely enough though, this didn't seem to stop me from getting the usual run-of-the-mill pressies!! Came into a bit of windfall money recently ... and despite not ever having a… Read more

mind blowing interest in jetski's apart from the above running joke, I thought "what the hell" ....might as well fulfill the prophesy!

Thus it came to pass that I found myself enquiring with a nearby SeaDoo dealer about what type of ski I should get. Why SeaDoo?? Dunno really - it just seemed to me that they had been involved in the game for a long time ... and despite being a staunch Honda man, it would make a change to NOT buy something Japanese for once!!

Anyway I struck a particularly pleasant and patient bloke ... who answered many, many questions over 3 or 4 separate interactions before I had a clue what I wanted. He needed to know what riding style I was interested in ... and I couldn't even answer him .... dunno - messing around on the water I guess. Isn't this why anybody would get one?! But it seems that there are many jetski genres, and the more my man explained stuff, the more it seemed that my style was more aligned with "touring".

My only real prerequisite was that it had to be able to manage rough water. Knocking around in a "tinnie" for 20 years has taught me in no uncertain terms that the weather gods ALWAYS arrange a little rough change for the trip home... no matter the forecast!!

So the advice from this gent was to run with a GTX155. The junior of SeaDoo's "luxury" range. I didn't like the paint job - way too much black (where the hell is my orange?!), and the price was getting up there a bit; but SeaDoo was having a bit of a promotion, which saw that model come with a $500 discount ... AND a free cover if I timed the purchase with the local boat show.

So ... took my man's advice and settled on the GTX (2016 build). Wow ... this bloke's good!! From my very first ride - across from QLD'S Tin Can Bay to Fraser island, Inskip Point, the Double Island Point light and back along the breaker line of the Rainbow cliffs, I knew we had chosen well. Despite having very much taken it out into the sea on my very first attempt at jetski-ing, I never felt anything other than total confidence in the rig. This is a large, stable, ocean-going boat after all.

Next trip was a run from Nudgee Beach across to Moreton Island to explore the resort and nearby wrecks. A delightful day with 2 kiddies on the back. Guess what?! The weather gods cooked up some messy big whitecaps for the 34Km trip home. However the boat glided through it reassuringly. At one point we nearly rolled when I decided to playfully throw it sideways at considerable speed into a treacherous roller that changed its mind after I'd committed ... boy that was way too close. Soon after, the rapidly rising seas saw us plough straight through a wave ... like a submarine. It washed the cap clear off my head, and left us all soaking - but the boat surged onwards with total aplomb.

What amazed me was when we finally got back to shore and opened the drain bungs, not a solitary drop of water came out!!

Another couple of delightful trips finished now, and boat has passed its 10 hour "run in" milestone, meaning it's now time to plan some tubing!! It just doesn't seem to matter how rough it gets, the hull can handle it. This is extremely reassuring to me, and testimony to the very patient customising of machine to my needs as accurately assessed by the dealer, to my great appreciation.

Technically, the boat has a naturally aspirated 3 cylinder 1503CC engine. It has 3 performance modes in ascending order: Eco, touring and sport. The acceleration on the Sport mode is simply amazing. It comes with SeaDoo's commendable braking and reverse system - which involves an electrically operated "scoop" arrangement dropping over the thrust nozzle to allow the boat to start in neutral, act as a brake, and initiate some pretty good reverse thrust by directing the flow downwards and towards the front with increasing throttle - same principle as reverse thrusters on jet aircraft engines.The operation of this mechanism is quiet and seamless - one can neither hear nor feel it deploying .... it just does it!! More reassurance, and makes docking an absolute cinch!

The display can be changed to show either speed (GPS determined), RPM, clock, and fuel usage in both instantanouus and average litres per hour. My only gripe at this point is that the average fuel usage seems to only reflect the average since the motor was last turned on. I would have preferred to see a user-resetable parameter here.The display also shows fuel level, hour meter, and a compass showing bearing in both degrees and alpha. I would have liked to see an odometer included in the display suite ... and can't really see why this couldn't happen - the speed is determined via GPS tracking ... so there is no real reason why distance travelled couldn't be easily calculated.

The machine has a variable trim mechanism to either raise or lower the nose according to load and conditions, which I use a whole lot. The current setting is permanently displayed on the readout. My least favourite function is the convoluted "cruise control" ... which involves activating the system, and then setting the speed by pressing the up/down arrows on the handle bar control until the required speed is selected, then holding the throttle all the way in ... at which point the boat will run along at this speed. Well that's the theory!! I find it messy to set and use ... and wonder why one wouldn't simply hold the throttle at the desired speed - if one has to hold the blasted throttle anyway?! I could easily live without this feature!! Maybe SeaDoo will swap it for something useful - like that odometer!!

This model comes standard with the spring loaded boarding ladder at the rear, which manually drops down to allow the user to climb aboard with ease from the back, and springs back up into the usual stored position afterwards. The handlebars can be raised/lowered across 4 separate settings, which is useful when riding while standing, for example.

Storage capacity is well beyond what I was expecting. It will easily take ropes/anchor, V Sheet, flares, fire extinguisher, and a well packed floating safety bag in the front compartment underneath the removable watertight bucket that sits above it. This bucket will accept a change of clothes, lunch/snacks, a bottle or two of water, and even incorporates a molded spot for a mobile phone or similar. The access lid opens forward taking the mirrors up with it, via a latch on either side. Directly in front of the rider is a cavernous "glovebox" which swallows a stack of stuff ... but it tends to get all messed up largely due to its considerable depth - you have to be careful how you pack it, otherwise the stuff you want will always seem to be at the bottom!!

A hydraulic strut lift arrangement allows the entire seat to shift upwards to expose the complete engine bay, and much of the bowels of the hull itself. This will make maintenance a breeze - but it takes a pretty good heft to get it up and down again - has a large amount of travel.

And talking about that seat ..... ahhhh. So utterly comfortable. You really sit into it rather than on it. Makes those long cruises a piece of cake. Another star for my SeaDoo man!! The kiddies tell me it's pretty good three up as well ... even the elevated observers spot right up the back.

Fuel usage is difficult to accurately report on ... or even determine. It is just so dependent on conditions and load. We used roughly a litre for every 2.5 or so kilometres travelled on that difficult day on Moreton Bay, but we were running 3-up, and the conditions were challenging. Lack of an odometer means that exact calculations are impossible to determine. I could only manage it that day because we only went straight there and back ... and the distance was determined via handheld GPS. I can say that the display shows an instant fuel usage rate of 2L per hour at idle ... at which point it is making 7-8 Km/hr one-up, and roughly 7L per hour while running at around 20 Km/hr.

Overall I am thrilled with the package. The overarching impression is one of reliability and the ability to manage the most challenging of conditions with reassuring confidence. I am really developing a measured trust that it will get me home every time. Despite it's bulk and weight, it will playfully handle a bit of tossing around too. The boat is strong and dry, and despite the fact that it's black .... I love it!! Just like he said I would!!!

Great jet ski – Great jet ski, fun to use ,not overly powerful but glides through the water with ease. recommend it for sure. Reliable and easy to use Expensive to service