PWC Expert: Sea-Doo Advanced Tech iCatch Trailer
Launching and loading your PWC just got a whole lot easier.
Here’s a new product that should make the beginning and end of many watercraft rides – launching and loading at the ramp – a much easier operation. The Advanced Tec iCatch trailer from Sea-Doo was designed from the wheels up specifically for transporting a PWC, and two key features make it work better than any typical watercraft trailer. Because it has rollers instead of flat, carpeted bunks, you can launch and retrieve without backing into water deep enough to float the watercraft off the trailer.
The new Sea-Doo Advance Tec iCatch trailer features a low-slung frame, articulated roller supports, convenient walk-around decks, and an automatic bow eye latch, all of which make it easier to launch and retrieve, even when single-handed.
To make the job even easier, Sea-Doo replaced the typical winch-and-strap at the bow stop with a automatic latch device – the iCatch – that can be released by a rider sitting on the seat of the watercraft. To launch, simply back down the ramp until there’s enough water behind the trailer to float the craft. If you are alone, it’s easy to get onto the Sea-Doo by stepping on the wide, plastic deck that wraps around the craft when it’s on the trailer. You may not even get your feet wet. Once in position behind the handlebars, the iCatch bow latch is released by lifting a lever on the left walk deck, and the Sea-Doo rolls right off the trailer and into the water. If you’ve got a partner, of course, one person can simply get on the Sea-Doo before you back down the ramp, roll it off the trailer and idle to the dock while the other parks the tow vehicle.
Pulling this lever on the left walk-around deck releases the iCatch latch, allowing the Sea-Doo to glide off the trailer and into the water.
When it’s time to load up, the walk pads, which are made of non-scuffing plastic, double as guides to get the Sea-Doo centered on the trailer. When the craft’s bow bumps the stop, the iCatch latch mechanism snaps shut on the bow eye and the boat is secure and ready to be pulled from the water. I got to try launching and loading at a Sea-Doo event, and it really is that easy. A switch on the bow support locks the iCatch device, and transom tie-down straps should be installed before heading down the highway.
Back it down this deep, and the Sea-Doo Advance Tech trailer can be loaded or unloaded, thanks to the rollers and iCatch bow latch. Note that the tow vehicle still has four wheels on dry land.
This trailer is so much easier to use than a bunk trailer because it does not need to be backed into water deep enough to actually float the watercraft for launching. There have been times on shallow ramps when I’ve backed my Honda Ridgeline so far into the lake that water was lapping at the door sill. With the rollers, if there’s any kind of incline to the ramp the Sea-Doo is going to glide right off. And this trailer’s low-slung design and torsion-spring axles put the boat that much closer to the water. The trailer comes with enclosed wiring, submersible lights and no-maintenance sealed wheel bearings, and weighs 360 pounds. The trailer is only offered with a galvanized finish.
The walk-around decks and their aft supports act as guides to center the watercraft on the trailer when loading. Just bump the iCatch latch and it clamps the bow eye, securing the craft to the trailer.
The Advanced Tech trailer is designed to work with 2002 or newer, four-stroke-powered Sea-Doo models, and requires the separate purchase ($39.99) and installation of a special iCatch bow eye. Next year Sea-Doo plans to have iCatch bow eyes available for Yamaha and Kawasaki models, and a two-place Advanced Tech trailer is reportedly in the works. The Advance Tech iCatch trailer is priced at $1,399, which does not include a tongue jack or spare tire and carrier. A nice-quality bunk-type trailer might cost about $800, so the price difference is not insignificant. But if you trailer a lot I think the convenience features of this trailer make it a good investment.
