Sea-Doo Switch owners react to recall, after BRP says risk of serious injuries or even death
Bombadier Recreational Products (BRP), the manufacturer of the Sea-Doo Switch, has issued a safety recall for its pontoon jet boats. There have been incidents of Sea-Doo Switches flipping over, with horrendous consequences.
Now BRP has issued a recall notice for the product, saying: ‘Improper distribution of passengers and cargo weight could overload the front of the watercraft and cause instability, nosediving and possibly lead to capsizing. The condition worsens if water evacuation from the hull is not optimal. This could cause serious injuries or even death.’
Peter Swanson, who writes as Loose Canon, notified MIN that BRP did not issue a press release about the notice entitled ‘Front Overloading-Risk of Capsizing’ which went out to owners on 18 February 2025.
The instability is tied-up in questions raised about the outer hulls, and ballast water.
“The hulls comprise multiple segments whose number determines LOA, whether the hull is 13, 16 or 19ft long. The segments are purposely not sealed, so water seeps into the hulls, supposedly to add weight and thus stability at rest. The ballast water then flows out through an opening out the back when underway or when hauled out,” Swanson told MIN last year.
“If a Switch were at rest and then got underway long enough to lose five of the ten gallons out the back, and were then throttled down, a combined 80 pounds of water could be sent hurtling forward, filling the empty space and helping to force the bow down.”
Online Sea-Doo Switch users in a public facebook group are questioning the notice they received via email – which says repairs (taking less than an hour) include ‘partial sealant application’. Owners have noted the general lack of details.
“The BRP website says that a dealer will need to seal “specific sections of the hull”. Does anyone know exactly what they are doing? Where will they seal? How will that solve the problem? Will this have any effect on performance?,” asks one.
And the hypothesising reply from another? “I doubt it solves any issues. It’s just a way for them to get out of lawsuits if the person suing didn’t have the recall done as suggested. No amount of sealant is going to help someone who overloads the front of the boat and then buries the nose while going 30 mph.”
Accidents in Sea-Doo Switches widely reported
This comes after MIN detailed the problems which some Sea-Doo Switch owners had been experiencing with control of their vessels.
In September last year, media reported that a Florida family’s Sea-Doo Switch Pontoon boat (seemingly the shortest model) flipped over in the St. Johns River, trapping an infant underneath it. That incident raised multiple online reports of similar incidents, including one person who’d had it happen . . . twice.
“The first day I had it, I had let off the throttle suddenly. Now I reduce speed slowly. Second time, there was a big wave as I was coming into a no-wake zone. . . . . It is really scary. I’m pretty sure my niece will never get on my boat again,” MIN’s source said.
MIN’s report at the time included opposing views about the competence of the boat owners in different sea-states and mentioned that the Sea-Doo Switch was marketed to first time boat owners. As Swanson said: “These folks want to get out on the water and have fun with their families on weekends, not to become versed in the nuances of vessel stability.”
That’s now echoed online by a Switch owner. “The problem: this boat is SO affordable that folks that don’t know boating can get one. Then act like they know what they are doing.”
Flipped Sea-doo Switch courtesy of DC Fire and EMS DepartmentSea-Doo Switch complied with all ABYC and US Coast Guard regulations
Back in October last year, BRP spokesperson’s Emilie Proulx told MIN that Sea-Doo Switch watercrafts complied with all ABYC and US Coast Guard regulations regarding flotation testing and weight capacity. “This product has been rigorously tested throughout its development phase and still is today. As such, BRP strongly believes that the Sea-Doo Switch watercraft is a well designed and safe product,” Proulx said.
When asked about the capsize on the St. Johns River, and the Clay County rescue she said: “With regards to the incident you reported, it is still under investigation and, consequently, we will not be commenting on this specific matter.”
She also said “We provide our users with safety information (user guide, product labels, safety video, etc.) and design features to ensure that our products are used safely. Having said that, BRP takes any incident with its products very seriously.”
And it seems that taking it seriously has led to where the company is now.
Lawsuits relating to Sea-Doo Switch
BRP is currently the subject to lawsuits relating to the product. There’s a $30 million one in Florida over a forward-flip accident that left a girl severely disabled. Swanson says a second suit is being readied over a similar accident that left a Virginia girl dead.
Lawyers for both said the recall was overdue and would make their cases easier to prove to a jury.
“We are incredibly pleased with this recall as a team, but I wish they had done it before a little girl died,” says attorney Emily Brannon. She represents the family of a nine-year-old girl whose Switch flipped without warning on Lake Anna in Virginia.
“It’s too little too late,” says Judd Rosen, lawyer for the Florida family. “To me, it means that this case screams out for punitive damages. They know they are guilty.”
Sea-Doo Switch after it flipped in Georgia. Courtesy of BoatzoneSea-Doo Switch recall notice unpicked
The recall is for Switch models from 2022 to 2025 – so that’s pretty much all of them.
‘Improper distribution of passengers and cargo weight could overload the front of the watercraft and cause instability, nosediving and possibly lead to capsizing,’ Sea-Doo says in its recall notice.
Rosen represents William Grullon and Sheila Feliciano whose 22-month-old daughter has been immobilised by “a catastrophic anoxic brain injury.” Rosen says he will argue that the Switch design is so flawed that it can flip over forward even when weight is distributed optimally.
Sea-Doo’s recall notice continues: ‘The condition worsens if water evacuation from the hull is not optimal. This could cause serious injuries or even death.’
“The second part of Sea-Doo’s explanation is intriguing because the company appears to be admitting to a flaw in the boat’s water ballasting system,” Swanson says.
Sea-Doo Switch water ballasting system
As above, Swanson says Switch outer hulls are not fully filled with foam. The hulls comprise multiple segments which are purposely not sealed. Water seeps into the hulls, supposedly to add weight and thus stability. The ballast water flows out when underway or when hauled out.
Previously, Swanson visited a Sea-Doo dealer to ask about this. He told MIN that the salesman acknowledged the boat’s propensity to flip when suddenly decelerating, particularly in choppy water or in combination with a turn. But the salesman said he did not know exactly how much ballast water the outer hulls could hold, noting that it is not specified in any of the manuals or training literature.
“If a Switch were at rest and then got underway long enough to lose 10 of the 20 gallons out the back, and were then throttled down, a combined 80-plus pounds of water could be sent hurtling forward, filling the empty space and helping to force the bow down,” says Swanson.
A Sea-Doo SwitchWater capacity of Sea-Doo Switch models
The water capacity of the hulls of the various models remains unanswered, but the recall-notice reference suggests it could be significant. That handling characteristics could be affected by “non optimal” water evacuation was never before mentioned, which meant that even a savvy operator would not have known how to compensate to keep the boat safe, says Swanson.
Parts for recall repairs will become available gradually from 3 March 2025. The repairs will involve application of some type of sealant though this will not be necessary for 2025 models. Additional warning labels will be affixed to two locations. Plus there’s a new safety video.
BRP has also updated the Switch manual, urging owners to review both that and the video. At one point, the manual warns owners not to try powering out of a nosedive, saying that accelerating would tend to plunge the bow down further.
Buyer’s remorse rife on social media.
“It is definitely my biggest regret in life, now we’re stuck with it or go trade for a miniscule amount and get completely upside down on something better, says one owner. “I wish they’d just recall the boat completely and give me back my money!,” says another.
Many owners bemoan the current climate.
“The value has already decreased tremendously, my dealer said they can’t do anything with these anymore,” adds an owner as another says: “We went to trade it in and one guy wouldn’t touch it, and the other said $16k… we have less than 20 hours on it and it has always been garaged so it’s perfect condition. . . . we aren’t getting any resell value.”
MIN has asked BRP to comment on this story.
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