Review: Krash Industries 50 Cal Footrocket

You are in the right spot if you are interested in a Krash Industries 50 Cal.

Now that I have built and ridden my 2016 Krash Industries Flatwater 50 Cal Footrocket Stage 1 kit I wanted to do an in depth review of the ordering process, the build and the ride.

This was my first stand up to build/assemble so you can take my review/advice with as many grains of salt as you wish.

I want to break the review down into parts:
1. Ordering from Chris/Krash
2. Having it built in Thailand/Chris’s assembly in the States
3. Freight & Packaging
4. Build, component quality, etc
5. Ride

Krash Industries 50 Cal Review – Ordering

Dealing with Chris on x-h2o was easy. Chris was responsive and helpful to messages through the forum and via text. As the relationship derailed when the ski had issues he became less responsive and harder to get a hold of.

Krash Industries 50 Cal Review – Build/Assembly in Thailand and the States

Chris told me my 50 Cal hull would be delivered in 3 months, probably sooner. That statement was the main reason I chose a Krash stage 2 starter kit at the time over a few other hulls available. I put my down payment on my Stage 2 flatwater kit May 27th, 2016. My ski arrived to my work November 24, 2016 – 3 months later than his quote.

Despite being disappointed the hull was taking longer, it was nice to get updates from Chris about my Footrocket being built over in Thailand. Not all manufacturers can show you your hull ‘in the rough’ and I really appreciated that touch. It took probably 5 of the 6 months to be built in Thailand and the last month was spent at Chris’s place here in the States. Once Chris got a hold of the bare hull he assembled it with the stage 2 components – the Kavinci pole and pump assemblies. He sent me regular updates as the ski progressed.

Krash Industries 50 Cal Review – Freight & Packaging

Chris/Krash Industries used FreightQuote.com to get companies to bid on shipping my ski. The freight company who took the job mishandled the crate, let it flip upside down probably more than once. The ski was not strapped down within the crate so it bounced around and got some rash on the hood, punctures in the pole pad and other rash here and there. There could have been more padding as well as the ski tied down properly. The ski’s condition wasn’t a horror story, but it wasn’t how I wanted to receive my $8500 toy either.

I wanted my hood replaced at first, but the fiberglass damage was minmal and fixable. He did offer to pay for repainting it when I asked since there wasn’t major fiberglass damage to it. My punctured chinpad was replaced as well, but it took a while since it had it be made in Thailand and drop shipped to me. I can foresee replacement parts possibly being difficult to get in the future if Krash doesn’t stock extras in the States.

Krash Industries 50 Cal Review – Build

Stage 2 Kit – Once I received my stage 2 kit I immediately had issues with the Kavinci 148mm pump. On paper the stage 2 kit looks like a great deal – hull, pump and pole for $8500. My pump came either mis-installed or mis-manufactured and the impeller was rubbing badly on the wear ring. At first Chris told me to run it that way and it was for maximum tightness.

Maybe I’m too picky, but I refused to run it like that and accepted Krash’s offer to walk me through trying to re-shim the pump to see if it would stop rubbing. When I took the pump apart I noticed part of the impeller was bent a bit. Reassembled the pump, installed it with Nick’s suggestions (he offered to give me a call, but once again I kept the messages through FB). Our time difference from the States to Australia is obviously different, but Nick was still quite accessible to answer my questions.

Downgrading to Stage 1 Kit – I lost confidence in the pump after reassembly and shimming, and was offered a refund for the stage 2 components. I removed the pump, shoe, trim and all necessary hardware that comprised the stage 2 kit for a refund of $1250. Krash Industries could have told me to kick dirt, but they allowed me to send the pump back and for that I am thankful.

I ended up spending $3000 with JetManiac and bought a Torrent 148mm setback stainless steel pump, metal pump shoe, RRP trim and OEM midshaft to replace the parts I returned to Krash Industries. Much more expensive, but the quality of the parts was excellent as well as JetManiac’s service.

Hull engine alignment issues – I ran into more alignment issues when it came to the engine coupler not lining up with engine mounts and bedplate maxed. The engine mount hull plates were off. I managed to get my coupler to align by wallowing out holes on the mounts. Others retapped their plates if they had enough space.

Bilge area – On a positive note though, the bilge area was large enough to get my hands where I needed them. Much better than working on a Superjet. Interior fiberglass work was nice, no complaints there. I added my own inserts for the tank and such. There is a bit of clearance issue with the back of the hood and top bpipe jet adjuster. I simply took a Dremel wheel to the hood there and made an arch to clear the pipe.

Inserts – The metal Krash Industries uses for inserts is easy to cross thread and over tighten.

Paint – The blue is gorgeous. The scheme isn’t all paint, but printed graphics that can ripple when you drill through (tape helps) or tighten bolts on. The clear coat and paint scratches easily. Add some extra clear coat if you expect lots of rash.

Waterbox/exhaust – Other than it being very ambiguous as to which way it goes in correctly, the waterbox looks and sounds great. Fits nicely in the front of the ski. The long exhaust hose I received with my kit was cut too short. Chris offered to send me a new one after I shipped my defective one back to him. No hassles.

Pole & controls – The Kavinci pole fits the 50 Cal nicely. The throttle lever isn’t very comfortable with the non-beveled edges. I will probably be replacing it down the line for something more comfortable with a better angle. The OVP seems good, does not feel as smooth as my RRP OVP. As with any steering need to keep an eye on the bottom lock nut from backing off.

Throttle cable – The cable sheath is thin. Mine wore through the sheath under the chinpad before I rode the ski. Also too short for my 760 based engine throttle setup with the throttle drum in the rear and uncut pole.

Scupper – Seal it, turn it around backwards or replace it with a Versiplug ball style. Mine came straight from Krash sitting a bit open and let in water when not moving.

Hood Fitment – Horrendous. Talked to Krash Industries on the phone and after sorting some issues out, Nick offered to send a new hood. Never saw it, so I made my own (ugly) silicone seal that formed directly to the wavy, mis-formed hood. It worked, and my water ingestion issues stopped.

Krash Industries 50 Cal Review – Ride

Flatwater hull
Here is where the Krash Industries hulls shine. Since I live a few hours from the coast and have only ridden lakes I decided to go with the flatwater 50 Cal Footrocket hull instead of the surf version. The flatwater hull has a squared back for larger setup wakes, missing the additional 4th chine that comes on surf versions and does not have a front pocket for surf stance riding (allows for larger PV flatwater engines to fit better).

Freeride or freestyle?
It was not an all out freestyle machine compared to a Revolver, DVX, XFS etc etc. Which is exactly what I was going for. Even though it is shorter than the Krash Industries Predator, the 50 Cal Footrocket still can get up to speed without porpoising and chase boats while retaining great flickability. It doesn’t ride nose high all the time, will when you want it to. Footholds are very adjustable so you can move them to your proper balance point. The ride plate/hull extension is pretty long in stock form which allows the ski to be more stable. You can cut it down to your liking if you want it to handle more freestyle than freeride.

The tray is extremely roomy and the hull itself is very wide and stable. I could ride around with one hand on the controls no problem within minutes of riding my ski for the first time. In comparison, I’ve ridden a Rickter XFS and that ski was like riding on ball bearings – nose would never come down and porpoised at higher speed, difficult to hook up when cornering, overall a handful for pleasure riding. But that ski is an extreme example since the XFS is focused on freestyle competition, not freeride.

The bottom line on the rideability of the Flatwater hull 50 Cal Footrocket is if you are looking for a ski for pure flatwater freestyle competition you do not want to consider one. The flatwater one is still better in surf. If you want an extremely versatile hull that can carve, get up to speed, be flickable for flips and combos and make you smile every time you step in the tray then the 50 Cal Footrocket is worth your research.

Overall I think Krash Industries is doing great things for this sport, but the quality control – at least on the older hulls – could use some improvement.

See the whole build playlist in video below:

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Tags: Builds, Freestyle, Krash 50 Cal, Reviews, Video