2023 Sea-Doo Explorer Pro 170
Personal watercraft buyers increasingly put their craft to more uses, riding longer and longer distances, planning and completing multiday rides, exploring new waterways, and even using their PWC to camp along shorelines en route. The Sea-Doo Explorer Pro targets those same adventurous consumers with amenities borrowed from touring motorcycles and snowmobiles, as well as vastly increased storage potential.
The obvious addition to help serve this mission is the Explorer Pro’s industry-first windshield. Designed to reduce wind and noise-pressure fatigue by funneling air up and over the rider, it also offers protection from a driving rain or an early- or late-season chill. A vent provides fresh air when needed. In the unlikely event a rider contacts the windshield in a fall, it drops forward to prevent injury. The Explorer’s game-changing addition, however, is storage. An aft deck extension adds almost a foot to the craft’s overall length. An adjoining platform has also been added between that extension and the saddle. Both feature six sets of Sea-Doo’s recessed LinQ mounts, pop-up cleats that anchor a variety of accessories. Fill them with a combination of cooler, gear and fuel caddies to max out the provisions. Or clear the deck, load up to five fuel caddies, and double the craft’s range, easing concerns about that next fuel stop.
Other accessories round out the offerings. Because riders occasionally stand on extended journeys to stretch or better absorb waves, the steering column tilts and extends up to 3 inches to increase handlebar height. A 7-inch Garmin touchscreen GPS is ready to help navigate unfamiliar waters. Flattened gunwale footrests provide additional comfort when switching up seating positions when you’re not underway. A bright-yellow bow bumper, in reality a rigid grab handle, makes it easier to haul the bow up and onto a beach or shoreline.
The Explorer Pro is based on the GTX platform, Sea-Doo’s flagship three-seater. It excels in the rougher conditions explorers may encounter and offers unmatched stability at rest—key to accessing the gear stored at the stern. Below the saddle awaits a naturally aspirated 170 hp Rotax four-stroke engine, which is more fuel-efficient than higher-horsepower supercharged offerings. Expect a weight-influenced top speed of about 52 mph.
High Points
- Intelligent Debris Free system clears a fouled jet.
- Standard 26.4-gallon Dry Bag secures to the platform or can be carried like a backpack.
- GTX forward-opening storage allows convenient access to contents.
How We Tested
- Engine: 170 hp Rotax 1630 ACE
- Pump/Impeller: 155 mm high-pressure/stainless steel
- Gear Ratio: 1.00:1 Fuel Load: 18 gal. Crew Weight: 155 lb.
Pricing and Specs
| Price: | $16,799 |
| LOA: | 12’3″ |
| Beam: | 4’1″ |
| Draft (max): | 11″ |
| Dry Weight: | 859 lb. |
| Seat/Weight Capacity: | 3/600 lb. |
| Stowage Capacity: | 52.3 gal. |
| Fuel Capacity: | 18.5 gal. |
Sea-Doo – Valcourt, Quebec, Canada; 888-272-9222; sea-doo.com
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