Are you looking for a pontoon boat? The Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you a surprisingly affordable model with excellent design and a high-quality build. The Switch blends the best jet skis with pontoon boats, using the unique Sea-Doo Rotax engines for plenty of power and performance. You get a boat that has the handling and performance of a jet ski, with enough passenger capacity to take a bunch of your friends out onto the water for the day.
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Design Overview
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you an affordable entry-level pontoon boat. This model has a really reasonable price tag compared to other pontoons, and you can pick it up for around half the price of other entry-level boats.
The overall design aesthetic of the Switch Cruise is impressive. You get a tri-hull for stability, clear sidewalls around the deck for improving your view of the water, a full sunshade, and your choice of engine and deck set up.
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you a fast, agile pontoon that’s plenty of fun out on the lake. It’s the ideal party boat and a great choice for any boater looking for a pontoon model on a budget.
Engines
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise features a motor configuration using its legendary Rotax engine found on its top jet ski models. As a result, there are no props and minimal water disturbance when fishing. The draft of the boat of low, making it easy to float this model into the flats for fishing.
The supercharged Rotax 1630 ACE engine comes in two models for the 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise. You have the option of taking the powerful 230-HP engine for ultimate performance, or you can dial things back with the 170-HP motor if you’re looking just to cruise.
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise weighs a touch over 2,500-lbs, so we feel that the 230-HP motor is the better option for the Switch, giving you a top-end over 40-mph, which is very impressive. Even when you have the boat fully loaded, the big motor accelerates out of the hole easily, rising onto its plane without minimal bow rise.
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you a left-hand grip toggle allowing you to shift it between Eco and Sport modes or engage the cruise control. You also get the Sea-Doo intelligent brake and reverse (iBR) feature as standard equipment.
Hull
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise comes with a 21-foot hull, making it suitable for carrying up to 10-passengers. Instead of relying on a set of pontoons like other pontoon boats, the Sea-Doo Switch Cruise has a solid tri-hull, featuring design and construction with durable PolyTec materials.
PolyTec is a blend of polyurethane and fiberglass, providing a high-strength hull that’s nearly impenetrable. The result is a lightweight, rugged hull that stands up to knocks and bumps without sustaining any damage. The tri-hull has a deeper center hull compared to the side hulls. As a result, you get a V-like hull design for exceptional; stability and amazing handling.
The lack of props means the hull has a shallow draft of just 19.3 inches on the 21-foot model, and you get a matte finish.
Interior, Seating, and Deck
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise is an outstanding deal. You get all the advantages of a pontoon boat, combined with the convenience and user-friendly operation of a jet ski. The Switch comes with clear vinyl perimeter fencing. Most other pontoon models have aluminum side walling, and the design of the Switch gives it an open-plan feel and a better view of the water.
The clear side walling also gives the driver an unobstructed view of the water on all sides of the boat. Stepping onto the deck, we find a helm display with an integrated speedometer, fuel consumption gauge, and a clock.
The helm seat comes with a flip-up bolster, providing the driver with additional comfort and improved visibility when navigating tight spaces or docking in the slip. You get a display for your power trim control and easy viewing of all your instruments.
Unlike other pontoon boats, Sea-Doo kept its classic jet-ski configuration for the Switch. Instead of a steering wheel, you get handlebars with a jet-ski-like design.
This setup makes the boat easy to maneuver, and if you have experience driving a jet ski, you’ll find it’s a seamless transition to learning to navigate the Switch. This boat just feels like a bigger jet ski when driving, and the handling and performance are similar.
Sea-Doo’s Intelligent Brake & Reverse system (iBR) is excellent for better control over the boat when docking. Toggle the motor between forward, neutral, and reverse, and you’ll find that the Cruise can turn on a dime, offering you excellent handling in tight spaces.
We love the interchangeable floor plans on the Switch. Configure it to your preferred seating, and use the under-seat and under-floor storage for all your gear. You get soft-touch mats covering the entire deck length over the LinQ tiling.
The result is excellent insulation from engine noise and a highly customizable deck that suits any seating configuration. You get comfortable, plush seating with fade-resistant seats and cool-touch materials. The large Bimini top extends through the length of the deck, providing your guests with some shade of hot, sunny days.
Additional features worth noting include the pedestal tables, storage boxes, coolers, and fuel caddies. Snap the rubber deck pads into place for a softer feeling underfoot. Overall, the Switch offers you the best flexibility of deck configurations of any pontoon model. We like to think of the deck as a giant Lego set ready to play with as you please.
Pricing
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you one of the most affordable boats in its class. The standard model retails for $33,599 with the 170-HP Rotax motor. You might have to pay a commodity surcharge of up to $2,700 on the deal.
Additional Features
The 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise comes with a bevy of optional extras available to customize your boat. Some of the added features included the following.
- 5-inch display for the console.
- 7-inch Garmin GPS display.
- Bluetooth audio systems and speakers.
- Retractable boarding ladder.
- Glove box with a USB charging port.
- Extra-capacity fuel tank (29-gallons).
- LinQ cleats.
- LED courtesy lighting.
- Bimini tops.
- Deck mats.
- Additional storage under-seat and under-deck.
Be careful when kitting out your Switch. The extras can easily add $10,000 or more to the final price tag.
2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise – The Verdict
Overall, the 2022 Sea-Doo Switch Cruise offers you an impressive pontoon boat. We like the hybrid boat/jet ski design, enabling user-friendly operation and a great driving experience. There’s plenty of storage and deck space for friends and your gear.
However, the standout on this model is the price tag. Even when you customize the boat with every extra available and the biggest motor option, you’re looking at a final price tag under $50,000. That blows every other pontoon out of the water when it comes to an affordable, high-quality package.
