Boating

SEA-DOO

GTX LIMITED 300

- —Jeff Hemmel

GTX LIMITED 300

With this craft, Sea-Doo reimagines what a PWC can be.

This powerful PWC boasts a boatload of features that enhance the ownership experience whether you’re ripping, cruising, or hanging at the cove.

SSea-Doo is known for innovation, but arguably no craft has included as many new ideas as found on the GTX Limited 300. Hull, deck, saddle, stowage, aft platform — even the glove box showcases clever engineerin­g and design. The result isn’t so much a makeover as a full-on re-envisionin­g of the PWC builder’s flagship platform.

The redesign (one shared by all GTX, RXT and Wake Pro 230 models) starts below the waterline. Elements of the brand’s muscly RXP-X 300 proved evident in the sharper hull entry, which features an almost concave V that defies the boat’s listed 20-degree deadrise. The shape aims to improve wave penetratio­n in rough conditions

and quickens the boat’s overall reflexes. My test ride proved it works. Underway, the GTX corners with aggression and tenacity yet, thanks in part to its subtle reverse chine, feels precise and stable in rough water.

Stability at rest was also a design priority. According to SeaDoo, owners aren’t just turning and burning, they’re using their craft much like other boaters use theirs, beaching and coving with friends, stopping to eat on the water, even fishing. To those ends, the new ST3 hull measures 1 inch wider than the previous design, mostly due to a secondary chine that flares the hull. Additional features include a top deck that is notably low-slung and features less bulk forward of the saddle. That saddle itself sits well over an inch lower below the driver and a full 3 inches lower below the passengers. Footwells have likewise been widened and recessed to match. Again, the combinatio­n works. I walked the port and starboard footwells without rolling into

the drink, deepwater-boarded from the side of the craft just to prove a point, and used the newly enlarged aft deck as a casting platform.

Sea-Doo designers didn’t stop at a larger, more stable platform. They also dreamt up new ways to enhance at-rest activities. Arguably the most useful addition is the LinQ accessory system, a concept borrowed from BRP’s ATVs and snowmobile­s. A pair of pull-up, composite “cleats” recessed into the deck, LinQ mounts form the anchor for a number of accessorie­s, including a 4.2-gallon cooler ($279), 4-gallon gas caddy ($179) and 5.5-gallon semi-rigid dry bag ($194). The cam-style locking mechanism proved secure, even during extended time in rough water. The high-tech, rotomolded cooler kept ice frozen for a long, hot day. The gas caddy and dry bag can also be convenient­ly stacked together. For watersport­s enthusiast­s, a removable tow pylon ($299) installs into an additional port.

Additional space on the swim platform is gained by removing the aft third of the seat, a nod to the growing popularity of coving and fishing. Sea-Doo also envisions performanc­e types jettisonin­g the saddle on occasion to lower weight. Reps even noted that the free section of saddle could be placed farther aft on the deck and the cooler placed into the resulting gap to form a kind of mini dinette for that picnic lunch. Should you try it, I’ll caution the removable section of saddle doesn’t secure in this configurat­ion, so you better hope the water’s calm.

Even something as seemingly mundane as bow storage gets a radical redesign. Convention­al bow storage has always come with a catch: On the water, accessing the contents requires an awkward stretch over the handlebars, water often splashes into the open compartmen­t, and the deepest-buried items are never within reach. Sea-Doo’s solution is to move the compartmen­t directly in front of the saddle and essentiall­y make the entire handlebar/mirrors/informatio­n display assembly one big lid. From a seated position, I released two levers, lifted the gas-shock-assisted hatch upward, and revealed a generous compartmen­t with handy dividers to keep contents organized. Again, the solid feel of the assembly is impressive. Where I expected rattles and play, I found beefy, solid constructi­on. The redesign reduces the glove box to little more than a smartphone holder, but in today’s world that piece of tech is a given. Rest easy knowing your device will be pampered with foam and housed within a waterproof case, and a USB port will be at the ready.

With so much innovation hogging the spotlight, I’ve hardly left room for a PWC’s bread and butter — performanc­e. The GTX redesign shed almost 90 pounds from the previous model’s weight, significan­tly enhancing power-to-weight ratio. Combined with the carry-over 300 hp Rotax 1630 ACE engine, the craft accelerate­d to 60 mph in under 4 seconds before topping out at a governed 67 mph. That’s similar performanc­e to Yamaha’s FX Limited SVHO ($17,399), a craft that also features an electronic reverse/decelerati­on system, as well as cruise, no-wake, touchscree­n display and an accessory mounting system. Sea-Doo’s innovative combo of storage, modular LinQ accessorie­s, and at-rest stability, however, continue to set the GTX Limited 300 apart.

In a first for Sea-Doo, a 100-watt waterproof audio system is standard issue, complete with Bluetooth connectivi­ty and speakers neatly integrated below the side mirrors.

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