YAMAHA VX18R and VX18S PWCs

- Great purchase price

-  Some riders might have to stoop or sit back to get a rear view

For that additional $221 you get a high-profile back in the seat and a retractable boarding step that pulls out from under the boarding platform on the stern. Both feature a redesigned Ride Plate which, in effect, is a planing plank under the aft end of the hull which improves stability and hole shot.

Both models are supplied with a pair of key fobs that may be used to immobilise the ski and to switch it to 'learner' mode. When activated, the latter induces a lower RPM to the engine which pulls back the power output by 30 per cent; a good safety feature for the beginners in the family.

Also the wear and tear to the rider and passenger is reduced when sitting closer to the stern with less bone jarring experienced when slamming walls of water.

The rear-view mirrors have been lifted higher on these models making it easier for the rider to utilise, although both are fixed in their housings and not adjustable.

The re-vamped deck features an extended rear boarding platform on both models. With everything shifted aft, more space has become available for stowage in the nose cone of both skis and this volume of stowage is now 57 litres.

Whew! That was a little hard to comprehend but we pulled their American website apart and in more simple terms, we deciphered it as thus: "Common material components are cells that are laid out and fillers used to bond them together. NanoXcel technology has cells overlapping and bonded to each other and therefore less bonding material or filler is required resulting in increased strength." The website also quotes a weight reduction in hull components of around 25 per cent using this new technology.

In the power department, Yamaha have utilised an 1812cc naturally-aspirated water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke engine with four valves and double-overhead camshaft.

This motor is a wet-sump type with an oil capacity of 4.3 litres. To avoid the engine oil pick up scavenging air, two pick-ups are installed, one at the forward end and another at the rear end of the sump so there is always oil going to the components above, even under the harshest acceleration and stopping.

Dipstick checking is not a problem and a hand easily fits down the front starboard side of the motor to remove same.

This powerplant is bolted to a 155mm axial-flow pump utilising a stainless-steel three-blade impellor pushing the jet out of an 87mm nozzle.

The motor will start in forward or reverse, the latter being activated by a manual pull-out lever which protrudes some length when pulled out to reverse but rebated into the body aft of the handlebar when in forward gear. There can be no mistake about which gear you are in with this larger-than-life manual shift.

Should the ski tip over when in the run mode, a slant detection switch will shut the motor off to avoid water ingestion. If that happens or you take plenty of water over the front, the small glove compartment in front of the driver and the luggage compartment in the nose cone is splashproof rather than waterproof, so waterproof grab bags are recommended for extra security of goods and chattels.

Both skis feature a fuel tank of 60 litres.

The torque throughout the speed range was just as exhilarating and there was plenty of it. One got the impression you were saddled up to a turbo-driven machine but not so, and in fact one is not required. Therein lay one of the main reasons the price of these skis can be kept to a minimum RRP.

Stability of these machines was excellent and a lot of the credit for this, considering these machines are narrow for their length, goes to the sponsons that are bolted to the chines in the aft end. They offer extra stability to negate rock and roll and give the ski direct tracking at speed especially with a payload of one or two passengers on the back.

Back at the ramp, manoeuvrability using the reverse lever is excellent and very direct when coming to navigate around your trailer or other vessels.

With these two models from Yamaha, the base price reflects the lack of extras you get in the deal. What it belies though is the amazing amount of power you get out of these machines. They are a blast!