PWC – PWC Digest
Honda Brings Back Five
Honda’s five-model line of personal watercraft return largely unchanged for 2006. Positioned as “R” designated two-passenger and “F” designated three-passenger craft, the units come in standard and turbo-charged versions. Output on the turbo-charged units are provided by a water-cooled IHI turbocharger producing a maximum boost of 13 psi and delivering 32% more power than the normally aspirated engine found in the company’s non-turbo boats.
Honda’s two-passenger personal watercraft are the AquaTrax R-12 ($9,749) and R-12X ($10,749). For 2006, the turbo-charged R-12X receives a new black hull with black upper deck and a new silver seat – a white hull distinguishes the non-Turbo R-12 model.
Honda’s three-passenger PWC line-up features the F-12 ($9,749), F-12X ($10,749) and F-12X with GPScape ($11,449).
For 2006, the F-12 buyer receives a choice of a white hull with candy red upper deck or a white hull with a bright blue upper deck. The turbo-charged F-12X receives a new black hull with red upper deck.
Honda’s halo model is the F-12X with GPScape. GPScape is a navigation system featuring storage for up to 100 waypoints and a digital compass function indicating travel direction. The F-12X with GPScape receives a black hull and white or bright blue upper deck for ’06.
Sea Tow Begins Clean-up
After conducting an aerial survey from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans, La., following Hurricane Katrina, Sea Tow President Capt. Keith Cummings estimated that about 75 percent of the area’s marina industry is “non-existent.” The hurricane’s path covered 150 miles or more of coastline, he estimated.
A marine towing operation, Sea Tow has over 3,000 members in the region devastated by the hurricane. The company is working on behalf of boat owners, marina operators and insurance companies to recover recreational vessels in the affected area. It had eight to 10 Disaster Recovery Teams on site for a total of about 30 people, but Cummings said he planned to double that number.
A 30-acre site in Gulfport is being used to store the boats as they are recovered. Although Cummings said he expects the bulk of this effort to last three or four months, “The impact is going to be profound here,” he said. “It’s going to be a long haul for a lot of people.