23.

New South Wales Fishing and Boating Monthly, The Recreational Fisherman's Voice - October 2003

CRUSHING SUCCESS
Colin Buckley

A few months ago I gave the 670 Bar Crusher a good workout off Sydney and was impressed by the way it performed on blue water. Its smaller relatives, the 530C and 560C versions, were the next cabs off the rank for a review.

These boats are all manufactured in Melbourne and I was interested to find out whether they'd live up to their big brother's reputation. I waited for the boys to arrive with the boats ready for a trip down river and out through the heads. Unfortunately, on the day of the test the seas were huge and even the Manly Ferries had been cancelled. Because of this, I gave the boats a test at a place where I knew the water is always turbulent. Underneath the Coat Hanger. Bar Crusher is earning a sound reputation for making soft riding "hard core" fishing platforms. These plate boats have a unique feature in that part of the hull fills with water when the boat is at rest. Now, before you panic and think, "I don't want a boat that fills with water", let me explain. Running along the full length of the keel there's a cavity in the bottom of the deep V hull, open at the transom end. When the boat stops, this fills with water and becomes ballast, lowering the chines into the water to provide greater stability. The moment the boat moves forward, this water ballast is jettisoned in seconds allowing the boat to fly up onto the plane. This feature is common in all Bar Crushers and adds to the stability of the boat at rest, ideal for the bait fisho targeting snapper, jew, kings and so forth. In drift mode, the boat has a low profile so it won't act as a sail and scoot along, lifting baits off the bottom. We took both the 530C and the 560C out for a spin and I was impressed at the standard features which make these boats ready for fishing "out of the box". In this article I'll concentrate on the 560C6 version. The 530C has the same characteristics as its slightly larger brother and will appeal to those who have a tighter budget.

You get a lot for your buck with these boats. There are plenty of "fisher friendly"inclusions and I'll list them as we look at the boat from stem to stern.

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.