BRP Introduces New Boat

A conversation among Whalers
jimh
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BRP Introduces New Boat

Postby jimh » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:04 am

When BRP announced it was terminating the manufacturing of Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines after over 100-years in the that marine business, it had two "secret" projects in development, which where known as Project-M and Project Ghost.

BRP recently revealed a new line of boats which they acknowledge as the outcome of the Project-M development: the SEA-DOO SWITCH. The "M" part is the modular design of the boat deck, which can be reconfigured by moving around plastic deck tiles in a sort of LEGO-like system.

As BRP has done in the past, they produced a very splashy introduction for their dealers. Here is a link to a recording of that presentation:

https://youtu.be/vFqngNTNdr8?t=613

Caution: what you are about to see is perhaps the complete antithesis of boating in a classic Boston Whaler boat with a conventional outboard engine.

The biggest feature: the boat, engine, and trailer start at MSRP of $18,000. The SWITCH is aimed at entry-level new boaters. In comparison, a Boston Whaler 130 SPORT base price is about $17,500, without a trailer.

The SWITCH boat in all models uses the ROTAX 1630 ACE engine, an in-line three-cylinder 1.633-liter four-stroke-power-cycle engine with four valves per cylinder. The SWITCH will use 100-HP, 170-HP, and 230-HP versions of the engine without supercharging. The acronym ACE stands for Advanced Combustion Efficiency. All the 1630 ACE engines use a closed-loop cooling system. The ROTAX 1630 engine is also available in some SeaDoo models as a 300-HP engine with supercharger and inter cooling.

dtmackey
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Re: BRP Introduces New Boat

Postby dtmackey » Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:59 pm

While I was a skeptic on their Ghost idea, this doesn't seem to be the same thing and does have a space in the market as "deck" style boats are the fastest growing segment in the industry. BRP already launched entry level offerings in their WaveRunner lineup (Spark) and also an entry quad and Spyder motorcycle with great success, so this may work for them as well. Their LinQ system for attaching accessories was done in the snowmobile market first and it was a huge success and you see many competitor sleds using BRP LinQ accessories.

Since the cooling is closed loop (like all BRP WaveRunners) the motor will not develop corrosion problems in salt and if trailered, the jet drive can be rinsed and last many years, but for a boat docked or moored in saltwater, I still see problems with corrosion problems of the drive components.

The flexibility of seating and layout based on user needs is a great idea and I'm sure it will be copied in the future.

D-

jimh
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Re: BRP Introduces New Boat

Postby jimh » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:32 am

I don't believe the SEA DOO SWITCH boat embodies any concept of the Project Ghost, other than, perhaps, the use of the SEA DOO water jet drive system and engine.

Or perhaps as a re-incarnation of a concept that another company (SEALVER) had many years ago in which a SEA DOO PWC boat would fit into a notch and push around a larger boat. See

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvZk8pTgYJI&t=4s

I think the realization of Project Ghost into an actual product may still be in the works or perhaps has been abandoned. There was some speculation that Project Ghost was going to be a re-design of the outboard engine into a much lower-profile propulsion system that would have very low height and not project above the gunwales at the transom of the boat it was powering.

We might still see something from this, as BRP is, somewhat paradoxically, now buying outboard engines from Mercury to power the several lines of outboard-powered boats that BRP is still manufacturing. To put a BRP engine on the transom of a BRP boat would make a lot more sense. Also, what else would BRP do with their modern outboard engine manufacturing plant in Sturtevant, Wisconsin? There is talk that the plant is still running, and actually still making a limited number of E-TEC engine power heads, generally for use in warranty remedies to catastrophic powerhead failures of G2 engines under long factory warranty coverage.

Hoosier
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Re: ROTAX Engines

Postby Hoosier » Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:01 pm

When I looked through all the Switch stuff I was struck by how it was optimized, even dedicated, to water sports that usually mean going fast. The Switch, with its shallow draft, would make a great fishing and flats boat but I think the jet drive would be terrible at "trolling speed". Darn.
1978 Outrage V20 with 2004 Suzuki DF-115. 1992 23 Walkaround with two 2010 Yamaha F-150s.