A personal watercraft (PWC) is a watercraft that you ride on and that is powered by a water jet. This watercraft can be "hand-held" and ridden standing up or saddled and ridden sitting down. If the official term is PWC, there are several other names for this type of machine.
You might think that the difference between all these names is related to the use of the chair: sitting or standing. But not at all! All these names refer to the same watercraft, even if the generic terms are jet skis or personal watercraft.
A brand story
In reality, the jet-ski is a registered trademark of personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki, the first model of which was launched in 1973. But due to its great popularity, this term has become generic to talk about sea scooters. There are other brands such as Seadoo within the BRP group, or WaveRunner within Yamaha.
Sea Doo
A history of place
If jet-ski is a brand, then personal watercraft and jet ski are generic terms. The difference between the two is only geographical. In France, there is no rule of use for these names.
In Quebec, however, the Office québécois de la langue française recommends using the term "personal watercraft."
Kawasaki Handheld Jet
Hand-held jet, saddle jet
The arm jet is quite different from the saddle jet. The hand jet is smaller and has no seat. The pilot stands on what is called a bucket. The saddle jet is larger and often has multiple seats.
WaveRunner Yamaha
Permit required?
As its name indicates, the Nautical Motor Vehicle is motorized. And as specified in the regulations, "a driving licence is required to pilot a motorized pleasure craft at sea when the engine power is greater than 4.5 kilowatts (6 HP)".
It is therefore mandatory to have a boat license to drive a jet-ski.
If everything depends on the approval, very often, the hand jet can only be used in basic navigation, i.e. up to 2 miles from a shelter, whereas the saddle jet can be used in coastal navigation and thus up to 6 miles from a shelter.
