Tow Sports- These are for families that like to pull a water skier or wakeboarder behind.These are average size, have good storage space, and have a top speed of 99 km/h (about 60 mph) Recreation- These are the most bought jet skis and they are very agile on the water.The handlebars you use to turn the jet ski pull on a cable that moves the water jet one way, making the whole watercraft turn.The way water speed is built up is the water exiting through a steerable nozzle that is smaller than the water intake near the back of the jet ski.A little bit of the water that is sucked in cools the engine down so it does not overheat. The impeller has 3 blades made of stainless steel. In a PWC, the engine powers the water pump and the impeller (a propeller inside a pipe so it can suck water in at one end and out the other end).There is usually a 2-stroke engine or a 4-stroke engine in a jet ski. The power is provided by a gasoline engine which is fired by electric ignition.There is water being sucked in through an intake grate on the bottom of the craft.You may wonder what is going on inside a jet ski and how it works. Jacobson eventually licensed with the top three known brands for jet skis Bombardier for the Sea-Doo, Kawasaki for the Jet Ski, and the Yamaha Waverunner. They took a chance on him and in 1973, they released the first production stand-up Jet Ski. He then went to Kawasaki, which was just known for motorcycles. He went to Bombardier to get them to buy his jet ski, but they did not see a future with it. The next year, his second prototype was complete. This specific watercraft was made out of aluminum and was powered by a two-stroke engine. After a crash, he started to sketch a diagram of the “motorcycle for the water.” He quit his job and spent all of his time working on his dream of the motorcycle on water.īy 1965 he created his first prototype. This led to his idea of the jet ski when he was done crashing onto the pavement during his motorcycle races. He then became involved with Motorcross racing. After quitting the food business he was in, he began working with his father-in-law.
A few years later he married Dianne and they had four children. Aside from his studies on physics and engineering, Jacobson spent his time street racing, bodybuilding, and working in an auto garage.Īfter college at Los Angeles City College, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve to work close with jets. In the ’40s his family moved to Southern California.
The first successful internal pump-jet personal watercraft was a stand-up Kawasaki they called the “Jet Ski.” Clayton Jacobson’s IdeaĬlayton Jacobson II was born in Multnomah County Hospital in Portland, Oregon October 12, 1933. The American born Clayton Jacobson II invented jet skis in 1973. Where did the jet ski come from? Who created it? All of your questions on the history of jet skis can be answered below!