We just spent the last couple of hours looking these things over. They seem to be very well built. I was a fairly large original retailer of the SeaDoo VS Supercharged, and I can tell you from first glance, this thing is MUCH better built. It feels solid, but is very light weight.
The two handles have flat metal thumb triggers. Both of them must be depressed for the BladeFish 5000 to go. The three speeds are selectable by simply lifting and then depressing either of the thumb triggers. As you repeat this process, it cycles through the three speeds, changing with each lift/depression of a trigger.
There is a small plastic "key" that is inserted in the rear of the scooter to "activate" the machine. Without this key, the unit will not run. It is charged by removing the "key" and inserting the charger cord. LED lights on the top of the machine tell you the condition of the battery both during charge and discharge. The "key" has two o-rings, and I am just guessing that it is bad news if you enter the water without the key in place. I don't know this for a fact, and I am waiting for information from the distributor about what happens if this compartment gets wet.
We already have all of this shipment sold, with the exception of two we are holding for photographs and demonstration. All of the 200 scooters distributed last week by Innovative were air-freighted in and have been sent to several dealers. It will be February before we receive our next shipment.
I think this product will likely be very popular with recreational divers. It seems to have the features that would be important to that market. I expect it will cause a disruption in the sales of the other inexpensive recreational propulsion devices.
Phil Ellis
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