BomBoard a New and Lightweight PWC Alternative

No trailer required for modular watercraft

As much as we enjoy riding personal watercraft, it’s not quite as simple as buying one and hitting the water. You need a trailer and a proper tow vehicle to get where you want to go, which adds significant cost and can be a bit of a pain. One company is trying to solve those issues with a new ultra lightweight watercraft – the BomBoard.

“I had observed how today’s generation of action sports enthusiasts enjoyed the adrenalin rush of riding a high performance Jet Ski, but the majority of them didn’t have easy access to these machines,” says John West, the founder of BomBoard LLC. “My mission became to reinvent the traditional Jet Ski so that it would be both affordable and useable by today’s new generation of enthusiasts and to provide a hassle free buying and service experience that would allow them to enjoy a performance watercraft close to home.”

Tipping the scales at just 150 pounds (166 pounds ready to ride), the modular BomBoard comes in four pieces and can fit in the trunk of most cars. Assembly, according to the manufacturer, takes less than a minute.

“The BomBoard’s modularity is a true game changer in the high performance watercraft industry,” says West.”Ridership is no longer limited to people living on the water. Now even millions of city dwellers can become enthusiasts.”

The BomBoard disassembles into four pieces that can fit in the trunk of most cars.

The BomBoard is powered by a 250cc four-stroke engine that produces a claimed 34 horsepower and can reach speeds north of 40 mph. It’ projected horsepower-to-curb weight ratio is 0.20 – on par with most PWC in the 150-180 horsepower range.

“We shrank the size, weight and price of the BomBoard, but we didn’t shrink the adrenalin rush of going fast, over 40 mph, only inches from the water’s surface.” says West. “Performance is all about power-to-weight and at 150 pounds the BomBoard is like a pocket rocket go-kart for the water.”

Lightweight with a low center of gravity, the BomBoard is taking a new approach to the personal watercraft industry.

West is planning to make the BomBoard available in the spring of 2015 with a retail price of $3,495. However, BomBoard LLC is still looking for investors to bring the BomBoard into production.

The most obvious comparison would be the new Sea-Doo Spark. The Spark, which starts at $4,999, weighs in at 406 pounds (449 pounds ready to ride). They will be appealing to similar buyers, though the Spark can carry an extra passenger (or two if you get the Spark HO) and still requires a PWC trailer and tow vehicle.

The 250cc four-stroke engine propels the BomBoard to speeds topping 40 mph.

As the BomBoard is still in prototype phase, we haven’t had a chance to ride one yet. However, it looks like three riding positions are available – sitting, kneeling and standing. The standing position looks a bit uncomfortable as the short handlebar would seemingly have most riders hunched over. A telescopic handlebar would solve this problem, but may add too much cost to the budget-priced BomBoard. Sitting or kneeling look like the best options. And because the craft is so small and the rider so close to the water, we’d imagine you could carve a corner really well once you got used to the craft.

Due to the craft’s small size, we’d imagine it would be best suited for calm water conditions. You’d almost certainly want to be standing if you are bouncing off of waves and it doesn’t look like you’d want to stay standing for long.

Standing is possible on the BomBoard, but it doesn’t look like you’d want to do it for long.

For city dwellers that don’t have the space to store a trailer or a full-size PWC, this looks like a very interesting option. The ability to simply carry it in the trunk of your car is really appealing. It should be noted, however, that the heaviest of the four modular pieces is 80 pounds. It could be a little awkward lifting that into and out of a trunk on your own, but should be a snap with an extra set of hands.

The BomBoard looks like an exciting addition to the PWC market and we can’t wait to test one out.

Visit BomBoard.com for more information.