VORTEX JET BOATS
Chaparral has blasted into the new
world order of aquatic excitement not
only with its SunCoast outboard range
but also the Vortex jet-powered sports
machines. Times and attitudes are
changing quickly in watersports and
these innovative jet-powered units are
creating excitement worldwide. BRP
has been at the forefront of jet power
with its Rotax engines, and Chaparral
has now joined the fray with single and
dual-engine offerings.
Chaparral Australia presented the
new 203 VR and the 223VRX Vortex
craft at Secret Men’s Business and really
opened some eyes. These two hulls
pack all the traditional Chaparral glory- beautiful presentation and innovative
ideas melded into hard-hitting sports
machines that simply scream ‘come in
and play!’
The Vortex 203VR has a single
1.5-litre 250hp Rotax engine while
the larger 223VRX gets twin 200hp
1.5-litre units. These supercharged
and intercooled three-cylinder four-
strokes have integrated closed-loop
cooling systems and electronic fuel
injection, while the twin-engine model
features intelligent single-lever throttle
control. They are directed at one of
the fastest-growing segments of the
boating lifestyle, with waterskiing,
wakeboarding and wakesurfing as key
elements of the design.
As a former surfer, many kilos ago,
I understand the lure of an endless
wave, and to that end Chaparral has
developed a world-first and award-
winning option to create a surf wave
behind a previously flat-waked jet boat.
It is called the Aerial Surf Platform or
ASP, and it’s very simple.
ASP is an extension of the swim
platform and features a wave-shaping
design under the surface – at the
optimal speed and in conjunction with
in-built ballast this transforms the
jet thrust into a surfable wave. Adjust
the ballast to make the wave bigger,
smaller, longer or shorter.
But there’s much more to these
beautiful boats than tow sports; they
offer the traditional Chaparral thrills
and luxury and suit boating in shallow
water without the depth constraints
of inboard or outboard set-ups. Our
coastal lakes, estuaries and even
offshore waterways are now all go with
the saltwater-friendly Rotax enginesextending your horizons beyond the
traditional freshwater haunts.LET’S GO SURFING!
Not content, Chaparral has gone
further and released a surf range of five
boats. It teamed with Malibu Boats to
incorporate the innovative Surf Gate
system using Volvo forward-facing
drives, Medallion surf computer and
in-built ballast options to build massive
waves for dedicated riders. We’ll be
testing the surf range soon, but word
on the street – um, beach – is they’ve
nailed the ‘ultimate saltwater surf boat’
title straight out of the box! I guess
that’s what you can achieve with a
multi-million dollar R&D budget and
more than 50 years’ experience.
While the physically demanding
wakeboarding appeals to the young
and fit, wakesurfing is for any age- even old hippies like me! It’s also
a great way to learn to surf rather
than endless mucking around in
beachside dumpers. Chaparral has
been developing big wakes since the
introduction of its Xtreme wakeboat
series a decade ago, but with the latest
technology available from Volvo the
future sure looks exciting.
“The saltwater-friendly Rotax engines extend your
horizons beyond traditional freshwater haunts”
60 tradeaboat.com.au