the jet ski was invented in the late 1960s by clayton jacobsen ii who quit his job as a banker to pursue his vision of a motorcycle for the water - he was a motocross aficionado who wanted something softer to land on.

the original jet ski models required that the user remain standing and were somewhat difficult to handle in rough waters - the vehicles did not attain widespread popularity until the 1980s with the introduction of the two person sit down designs. during this time the jet ski was made accessible to a wider market of buyers and participats - it continually became safer and more user friendly with advances in stability and technology.