Ever since the closure of the Sea-Doo recreation boat line, BRP has been making moves to provide custom boat builders with their jet-propulsion systems, as Watercraft Performance reported in late March. Titled the “Power Pack” program and sold through the company’s Evinrude brand, only small-to-medium output boat builders would be allowed to purchase and install Sea-Doo Rotax engine and jet-pump drivetrains in their craft.
That is, until recently, according to a report in Trade Only Today. Looking to expand its reach across a wider spectrum of boat builders, BRP was made available to Rec Boat Holdings and Chaparral, and is expected to be made available to other companies soon enough.
According to the report, “Jason Eckman, product manager for Evinrude and former project manager in the engineering and development of Sea-Doo models, stopped short of saying the company is going to offer the systems to other boatbuilders” saying, “I would say we have our Phase One partners established. Those are the partners that have already been announced and we’re in discussion with second-phase partners to see who we will expand the business with. I would say we’re in the process of deciding what the second phase is, so that implies that there will be more.”
“One of the things I would add is that since BRP exited this business [as a builder], it seems strange that we’re getting back into this,” Eckman continued. “We didn’t have the network to support a large boat business. …At the same time, Sea-Doo as a boat brand did not have the recognition that it did as a PWC brand. So we had two challenges — network and brand. So it’s really exciting to see the propulsion system, which we know to be the best in the world, paired with strong boat brands and networks.”
Source: Watercraft Performance
