2018 RXP X300 hole punched out of gate reverse

[JackPenn]

Hello,

I was swimming past my X300 and thought something looked a little off. Got closer and noticed giant chunk of the gate reverse missing, and a crack straight through to the bottom! It was fine on inspection when she went in the water a month ago and nothing has hit it. Certainly nothing with enough force to cause this.

I am on Lake Michigan and love to jump 4'+ waves. After some cavitation issues following an incredible wavy day I suspect the piece popped out at some point on impact.

A couple questions if anyone wants to venture any educated guesses...

- Does this look safe to operate, or does it need to get fixed first? Is enough of the shroud intact to maintain structural integrity, or is there a good chance it could split in half if ridden in small chop to still water?

- Assuming there is an impact I do not know about (not likely), this got me wondering just how tough those shrouds are? My brother likes to slam on the brakes at 70 so the kids have fun, are these built to withstand that high of backwards pressure? Should the brake only be used at lower speeds, or only in emergencies at higher speeds?

The reason I ask is because the ridges formed by the missing piece suggest it was punched out from behind. I'm wondering if something was already weakened that eventually popped out while I was jumping waves.

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Milehighguy303]

I have never seen this before… but I think there is a very good chance that pulling reverse repeatedly at high speed is contributing to this failure. The bucket drops down further into the water, then the jet pump is pumping water at high pressure into the bucket. That pressure is very powerful, and likely flexing the bucket to crack it. I would stop that and replace your reverse bucket - and I bet you don’t have another failure.