Sep 16

Sep 16 Why is BRP So Bad at Making Boats? The Embarrassing Sea-Doo Switch

Sea-Doo builds and sells more PWC than any other brand, trailed closely by Yamaha. The PWC market is competitive and one of the advantages the parent company of Sea-Doo, BRP (formerly Bombardier) had was they were early to market with the sit down jet ski and really built off their snowmobile brand, Ski Doo. Both brands, Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo are synonymous with their respective markets. The original Sea Doo was a winner in the marketplace for its simple design and affordability. But, when BRP dabbled in boat building with Sea-Doo boats and later buying Evinrude outboards, they failed miserably. How could a seemingly competent manufacturer fail so bad in adjacent markets like boat building and outboard engines?

When you look at the latest Sea-Doo creation, the Switch, you’ll understand why very quickly. The Switch is a very plasticky, modular looking tri-toon boat powered by a Rotax engine and jet drive. Although jet drives are very inefficient they are safer in terms of not having an exposed propeller spinning where swimmers could make contact with it, so you can see why they went with it. With PWC handlebars to steer, the Switch is basically a plastic floating dock with a Sea-Doo underneath and configurable outdoor furniture on the deck. From an aesthetic point of view, it’s a nightmare.

If a 9 year old designed this, it would still be embarrassing.

Pontoon boats are popular but mostly because they were a way of having the whole family onboard a relatively affordable vessel that didn’t need much power. When the market grew, the size and features also grew, so did the price and power buyers wanted on them. New pontoons are the equivalent of trying to make a flatbed truck into a luxury vehicle by fastening outdoor furniture to the bed. A simple pontoon is okay for putting around a lake and maybe doing some fishing or passing out in the sun on but they are not very seaworthy for much more. The pontoons that are grossly overpowered and attempting to go fast are just comedy, nothing remarkable.

So why would Sea-Doo, who’s parent company owns Manitou Pontoon boats, make pontoon boats? They are looking for the market of around $20k to $29k for a family vessel, upgrading from a PWC. Yamaha Boats are successful in that you see them everywhere, they look decent and also are a good value for the money. Yamaha jet boats aren’t may favorite by a long shot but you can certainly see the appeal and the solid marketing Yamaha did. The Switch on the other hand is a stain on the industry; an embarrassment. Boats like the switch are so badly designed and so poorly executed you have to feel sorry for the people placing their hard earned money down for one.

This is an awful looking boat and it performs terribly but the plastic tri-toon Switch is a whole new level of bad design.

If you buy a switch, it will have no resale value. Every once and a while we see novelty boats introduced to the industry and they fail no matter how much marketing money you throw at them. BRP attempting to ride the Sea Doo brand and upsell PWC shoppers to the Switch is a lost cause. My guess is the Switch will quietly fade into the sunset in a few years and be a long forgotten joke and a complete waste of resources for BRP. The crucial test of “is this a good design?” and “who is this for?” are not met and it will be funny to see these melting in the sun years down the road abandoned in yards.

This old tri-hull deck boat is leagues ahead of the Sea-Doo Switch in terms of design and performance.

What is sad about BRP’s foray into the boat business is that I think the hubris of them being good at building ATVs and PWCs led them to believe they could build boats. Granted, when they owned Evinrude, they realized very quickly they needed to own some transoms to compete on any level but they have zero experience with it and bought brands based on availability and sales, not on any competitive advantage or brand power; namely Manitou and Alumacraft. Unlike Brunswick, the owner of Mercury Marine, who owns a stable of industry leading manufacturers and Yamaha, who owns and has agreements with top boat builders as well. Because the repower market is even more competitive, BRP was dead in the water with Evinrude.

Although Yamaha chases Sea-Doo in PWC sales, Yamaha is more significant in marine industry overall with Yamaha Boats, various boat brands and Yamaha Outboards.

Of course, BRP can keep building Sea-Doo’s and make money, the ATV’s are probably healthy for them but their insistence on trying to be in the boat business will hurt their bottom line more than it hurts to look at the Switch. The Switch is one of the worst designed watercraft I have seen in a long time, it’s just painful

The marine industry is desperate for innovation; this isn’t it.

What is BRP’s core competency? Probably small engines and manufacturing specialty vehicles in the markets they are already in; snowmobiles, ATVs and PWCs. Those vehicles heavily revolve around the engines that make them move. PWCs are generally very low on design, a small piece of fiberglass with some gimmicky features and a little jet drive. The standard for a PWC is really low. Boats are much more competitive and much more involved. Pontoon boats are actually the least design sensitive and are not really “boats” to me. I could essentially go to the Home Depot and buy some large PVC piping and some plywood to build a “pontoon” boat that would probably outperform the Switch.

The first Sea-Doo boats were were simple little jet boats that were reasonably popular but later they tried to make larger boats and they were so ugly you couldn’t give them away, the designs were atrocious. Jet drives are horribly inefficient too.

Whoever was in charge of the Switch program should probably be working at a patio furniture company and not making things that carry people on the water. In the end, good design wins. Consumers want long lasting value, something they can use generationally and be proud to own. BRP really struggles in the boat market from a lack of innovation and a complete misunderstanding of the market overall. BRP will need a life raft eventually if it keeps making boats.