9.

Fishing World's Boat Fishing Magazine - April 2002.
Courtesy: Yaffa Publishing Group P/L

BIG BOY! BAR CRUSHER 670HT ( NOW CALLED 640HT)
Photos and Story Wayne Kampe

The name "Bar Crusher" is fast becoming known in boating circles in this country thanks to the warm reception given to the 550 and 610 cuddy cabs already released. Now the biggie has hit the marinas and boat yards, all 6.7m of it! Originally designed in New Zealand and built in Australia as a strong plate alloy offshore boat, Bar Crushers differ from most plate craft in that there are no strakes running the length of the hull bottom. On the other hand, there is a water ballast system that allows water to flood into a cavity built into the apex of the hull's vee as the craft slows to rest. The hull settles and enhanced stability is obvious. On the move the water quickly drains out with little detriment to the hull's ability to punch up and out of the hole. Water ballast systems such as this are not new in small planing craft, of course, but that fact in no way lessens its effectiveness, especially in a deep vee hull (18 degrees) such as that of the 670 Bar Crusher.

The hull

There is no disputing the Bar Crusher hull (5mm plate bottom and 4mm plate on the sides) is different to other plate aluminium craft on sale today. I have mentioned the lack of longitudinal strakes (which we see featured on nearly all craft to provide lift and directional stability) but the Bar Crusher hull features reversed chines on the outer edges in lieu. Given the fairly obvious departure from the norm the question naturally begs asking: does the lack of under water chines affect ride or handling? From my on-water test, little, if at all.

The hull tracked true, the fine entry and deep fore foot at the bow certainly took a lot of bash out of the oncoming waves and at-rest stability was certainly good. One thing I did note was that at lower cruising speeds the hull tended to lean a little if weight on board (we had three up) was not evenly distributed. No big deal: we just ensured the third passenger was in the right place. A good way to control the side to side trim in this boat is with the simple and inexpensive addition of trim tabs.

Incidentally, there are separate sealed compartments under the checker plate floor to provide an immense degree of positive flotation: a safety feature of some magnitude in my view. Layout The Bar Crusher 670 is a beamy 2.45m hard top with a pair of long bunks in the cabin. A split bow rail, magnum sized cleat and bow roller plus anchor holder and anchor well are all within easy reach of the huge forward hatch up front of the cabin. That hatch is thoroughly sealed with solid rubber trim, too. The cabin features good headroom, a deep floor well and storage space under the bunks. All cushions were deep and well made. In all, the cabin is a very comfy place to get out of the weather.

The dash layout impressed me. For a start there is a massive horizontal shelf sheltered behind the tall armoured glass windscreen. It is a wide, flat area able to store items as large as a brief case (though such things are not usually needed on a fishing trip!) Furthermore, it is carpeted and being completely sheltered would be a dandy place to store things such s charts, binoculars etc, up there with the Lowrance LCX15 sounder/GPS unit and compass already installed on the test craft. The instruments on the Bar Crusher are set neatly onto the vertical section of dash directly behind the wheel. A small but neat area of contrasting trim surrounding the instruments for the 130 Honda four-stroke was an eye-catching feature. An array of waterproof switches were set up within easy reach of the skipper.

Before I move on to the seating of the big Bar Crusher I would like to elaborate on two more aspects of the cockpit. Firstly, a decent sized hard top and neat canvas extendable bimini extend well back over driver and passenger to protect them from the elements. Secondly, the front cockpit area is fairly bristling with hand holds and grab rails: eight in all. Seating for driver and passenger were swivelling buckets set on formed box shaped pedestals. The slide adjustable seats were very comfortable and could be completely swivelled astern for a bit of fishing or socialising. I noted that all instruments were within clear sight of the skipper with the controls for the Honda four-stroke right at hand. In the main cockpit work area astern the carpeted floor of the huge fishing area drains back into a well at the transom where a 2000 gallon per hour bilge pump can make short work of any water aboard. Astern there is a large underfloor kill tank and a folding rear bench large enough to seat four in comfort. When lifted the folded seat made a neat padded rest for anglers to stand against. Cockpit decks were of thigh height and easily wide enough to sit on in calm conditions.

No less than three rod holders were built into each area of rear side deck while another three were built into the bait board set up on the transom. Two metre plus long (and very fat) side pockets were set up under each side deck to further assist in storage chores. A look around the cockpit will show that this well-made boat caters for anglers in a pretty serious manner. Further examples of this are evident in the plumbed sink set up in the bait board astern, the large berley tank with masher to starboard, the live well built into the rear port quarter, plus ample cockpit padding all round. I would see the craft fishing four with ease, six at a pinch. As mentioned, power on the test rig was provided by 130hp power Honda. It is bolted right astern, on a neat bracket on the extremity of the hull. The vee section finishes a little inboard of this area with the result that a decent sized boarding area, serviced by a sturdy ladder, is present in the stern of the craft.

Fuel? There is 300 litres under the floor. Performance & handling Our test day was a fairly windy one. Running down the Southport Broadwater saw us maintaining an easy 27.5 knots at a modest 5500rpm with the hull treating wind chop and other craft's washes as mere vibration. It was here I noted the tendency for the big ' Crusher to be slightly sensitive to load under way. The craft planed at a gentle seven knots (great for towing skirted lures) and I saw an easy cruising speed as being at around 25 knots at a gentle 4800rpm. We headed out through the Seaway to look for a tuna but alas, despite the best of intentions and displayed willingness of the angling party, none were sighted. We did, however, see some fairly ordinary water with a metre and a half of easterly swell being shoved sideways by the push of a making northerly wind.

Running back in through the Seaway entrance with a solid ground swell on the transom proved a treat. The hull showed not the slightest tendency to bury or broach (thanks to the wide flare in the shoulders) and was remarkably well balanced. I purposely allowed several waves to overtake us and the non-feedback steering needed no correction whatsoever. The Honda 130 proved a willing and well-matched power plant and if there was a need for more power I never became aware of it at any stage of the test. The big H pushed the hull up on the plane in short order, throttled back to near silent cruising speeds and had ample grunt to instill confidence as I worked the craft in and around the Seaway's bar area. Overall The Bar Crusher 670 hard top is a well turned out and finished fishing boat. Yes, it is different to its competitors, as I have outlined.

The ride was pretty well as expected of a deep V plate hull of this size and overall level of finish and appointments was impressive. It all comes at a price of course, but if you like quality the Bar Crusher represents good value.

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.