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Fishing World's Boat Fishing - April 2004

Supplied Courtesy Yaffa Publishing

LONG TERM TEST BAR CRUSHER 5.5 AND FICHT 115 FISHO'S BOAT - A YEAR ON

NOTE: (THIS MODEL PERFORMS THE SAME AS THE CURRENT 530C MODEL)

By Jim Harnwell

A solid year of on-water use has confirmed initial impressions of the Bar Crusher 5.5 being an outstanding and feature packed sportfishing boat. It's a sad fact that most boat "tests"published in the fishing media are actually really only reviews. You can't objectively test a boat by running it around for a few hours on the Gold Coast Broadwater or in Sydney Harbour. You can certainly get a good idea what it's like but it's not the same as operating an individual boat on a regular basis over an extended period. Spending time in a boat allows you to understand the nuances of a particular vessel, to assess how it feels in different situations and to experience how it reacts and performs across a range of weather and sea conditions. You can then gain definitive insights into the boat's strengths and weaknesses, simply because you get to know it over a period of time.

Most boat / engine makers and dealers don't make their products available for long-term testing which is a pity because doing so would allow the fishing / boating media to do a much better job at informing you, the boat buying public, on how different boats perform. About the only way to enable a detailed and intensive long-term test is to buy a boat and give it a good going over in a range of different conditions, which is what we did when we purchased the Fishing World boat back in October 2002. Since then I"ve put 140 hours on the Bar Crusher in locations ranging from estuary fishing to trolling for marlin off the shelf in varied conditions ranging from dead flat to 25 knot winds and three metre seas. I've towed it up and down the NSW coast and launched it at ramps ranging from concrete multi-lane affairs to muddy creek banks. Fish taken include 100kg marlin, 15 kilo wahoo, good kings, snapper, salmon, tailor and a host of estuary species. I reckon I've got a pretty good idea on how this boat performs.

The Boat

The Bar Crusher 5.5 is a plate aluminium hull manufactured by Peter and Warren Cleland at the Bar Crusher factory in Melbourne. The 5.5 model has been superseded by 530c3 and 560c models based on the same design (see a write-up for the 5.6 in the April edition). As had already been written in previous tests in this and other magazines, Bar Crushers are significantly more advanced that your standard tinny, although they share classic aluminium boat characteristics of lightness, toughness, easy maintenance and durability. Much has been made of the Bar Crusher's much-vaunted ride quality, which is due in no small part to the solid plate alloy construction and a radical hull design. After more than a year of extensive on-water work, I remain impressed with the 5.5's soft and smooth ride.

These boats are nothing like your standard tinny in the way they handle in chop and swell. The sharp vee (18 degrees) and smooth, strong hull combine to produce a ride that's comparable to that of a similar-sized fibreglass boat.

I fish a lot in and around Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast. During the summer nor-easters of up to 25-30 knots are a fact of life, especially in the afternoons. JB can turn into a mass of whitecaps when a good nor-easter gets going, making for an uncomfortable ride in anything less than a 30-footer. In the previous Fisho boat, a 5m run-about, a ride home across the bay in a nor-easter was a wet and wild affair. The steep chop made the flattish hull of that particular boat bang like an absolute bastard. You were basically restricted to little more than troll speed if you wanted to keep all the fillings in your teeth.

The Bar Crusher, by contrast, provides a much more civilised ride at useful speeds. The horrible jarring bangs and crashes are replaced with a solid thud as the sharp hull cuts through over the chop. Sure, you still get the odd bang but it's nothing like a standard tinny. The ride is equally good either into the sea or with it following.

Negative trim really makes the hull work as you head into the wind and swell while I usually trim her out a bit with it at my back. I routinely cruise home from across the bay at 18 knots in a cross beam 20 - 25 knot nor-easter with my wife sitting happily in her padded seat next to me and the kids asleep on the bunks in the cabin. The ability to do that really makes family fishing trips much more pleasant. Coming home from out to sea from a reef or gamefishing trip is also much safer, quicker and more comfortable. A metre or two of swell, with chop from 20 knots of breeze on top, is no problem and is standard fare during a trip to and from the Banks, one of my favorite fishing spots about eighty miles from Greenwell Point. A trip that used to take up to 45 minutes is now usually well less than 30 minutes and much easier on my back.

I can't fault the Bar Crusher's ride, although you have to remember this is a small boat (the 5.5 designation is a tad deceptive as it includes the bow sprit and pod, actual hull length is 5.3m or about 17' feet)

The hull's main characteristic and one which gets a deal of attention at the boat ramp is the ballast or stability chamber that extends the length of the hull and which holds 400 liters of water when the Bar Crusher is at rest or travelling at low speeds. This simple but effective design ensures the boat is extremely stable at rest, the weight of the water (essentially 400 kilos of ballast) holding the deep-vee hull down. Without the chamber the extreme deadrise of the Bar Crusher would mean the hull would be excessively tender at rest. As it is, the hull is very stable at anchor. Two or three people can fish from one side with no problems.

A few weeks back my mate Stomper and I hauled in a 100kg striped marlin over the transom. That's a combined weight of more than 300 kilos at the rear quarter of the port side in a metre of swell yet the hull remained trim and steady. Made to Fish The cockpit of the 5.5 is well set up for active fishing.

A total of six cast aluminium rod holders are placed at carefully through-out angles in the gunwales, allowing for good trolling or bait fishing placement. Good wide side pockets (carpeted) under the extra wide gunwales (you can lie down and sunbake on these 320mm gunnels!) either side holds gaffs, fenders, rods, a paddle and other gear. A removable bait station with three rod holders is located on the transom amidships. This is ideal for preparing bait and berley or cleaning fish but I wish the rod holders had been splayed better to allow for improved trolling. The bait station can be replaced with an optional ski pole if you want to drag the kids around on a tube or do a spot of skiing. The floor is fully sealed 3mm chequer plate, with a good sized plumbed kill tank mid ships, I use this to store a hose, berley masher, yabbie pump and other bits and pieces. The transom features a nifty fold-down seat/step which when in the up position hides the oil bottle, battery (another battery is located under the front port-side bunk) and live bait tank. At the transom in the floor is a small plumbed well which houses the bilge pump and livie tank pump. Any water of other liquid that gets spilled inside the boat flows down into the well and can be evacuated by the 2000 gph bilge pump.

An 120-litre fuel tank is located in the floor just inside the cabin, with the trademark Bar Crusher in-floor fuel filler and gauge easily accessed and visible. I carry an extra 30 litres of juice when I'm heading offshore and an extra 10 if I'm estuary or bay fishing. Filling the boat from inside the hull can cause a few problems at the servo as you have to position the boat so that you can get the fuel hose to reach the tank. However, I like the direct access offered by the Bar Crusher system as you can see how much fuel you have and know for sure that what you've put in has gone straight in the tank.

Although it's a pretty hard-core sportfisher, the Bar Crusher boasts a certain degree of comfort. Padded Raeline swivel seats with armrests offer a bit of luxury for myself and a passenger. I used to hate driving a boat while seated but found the Bar Crusher to be quite comfortable in this regard. Excellent sturdy footrests makes driving seated in a lumpy sea quite comfortable. I usually stand while driving at speed but sit down when trolling or just mooching around. Huge storage bins are located on either side at seat level. I store my EPIRB, lure boxes and hooks/sinkers in the port side box for easy access and keep my wallet, keys, pliers and water/lunch in the starboard side one. These boxes are heaps better than the gloveboxes you get on most other tinnies.

A padded backrest on the transom is good for people using the rear seat. Unfortunately, the rough bill of a marlin tore the padding up a bit as we brought it on board. Got to have a few battle scars, I suppose. The padded bunks in the cabin make good seats for adults and are fine for kids to have a snooze on. I was going to get an in-fill cushion made up to create basically a double bunk but havenÕt bothered so far. A flat panel of plate aluminium forms a half bulkhead on the driver's side steering position with the gauges for the Ficht 115, a small Ritchie compass and the wheel.

A carpeted shelf provides mounting for the Navman electronics (see more on electronics fitted below) with a toughened glass windscreen surrounded by a heavy-duty rail which the aluminium roof latches onto when pulled down. The windscreen is fairly low and I find the thick railing obscures my line of sight when seated. The angle of the windscreen also precludes installation of large marine electronics units. The unique folding hard top helps give the 5.5 a sporty air and, when teamed with side clears, creates an enclosed cabin which totally protects you from the elements. With the roof pulled down, you're kept dry and protected from rain, spray and wind. Another great bonus for family fishos and those who have grown tired of getting lashed by cold sea spray. An enormous hatch provides easy and safe access to ground tackle and the sizeable anchor well. A lot of rival boat builders would do well to emulate the Bar Crusher's big hatch. The six-pack rocket launcher mounted on the roof is a practical fishing feature. I regularly travel out to sea with the rocket launcher loaded with 15 24kg game outfits.

All in all, I've found the cockpit set-up and factory fitted features of the 5.5 to provide excellent general fishability. My only criticism would be that getting in and out of the cabin can sometimes be a bit of a squeeze, depending on the angle which the seats are swivelled. Everything else, however, works pretty good and has been well thought out by the Clelands. The only addition I've made is to purchase and install a Scotty Depthmaster 1050 downrigger from Sydney tackle importer Basser Millyard, mainly to chase kings along the JB cliffs and at various local reefs. IÕm also keen to mount a set of outriggers but that'll have to wait for next season.

Legal Note: The statements, observations and opinions expressed in the above excerpts are those of the boat tester and were formed after inspection and testing of the Bar Crusher boat described in the test. The opinion is provided by the author of the test and not the directors of Bar Crusher boats.The information in these excerpts is offered to assist prospective buyers to do their research. Bar Crusher Boats confirms that the information above may contain factual errors and no responsibility is taken for it's accuracy or completeness. Please refer to the legal notice by clicking on the words "Legal Notice" at the bottom of each page.