The Smallest Boat in the Range, Built to the Same Standard
Bar Crusher’s smallest model at the time, the 500CR (later known as the 535CR), was built for bays, estuaries and coastal boating. It was a compact family fishing boat, not an offshore platform, but it was built to the same construction standard as everything else Bar Crusher makes.
Purpose-Built as an Entry Point
Bar Crusher was clear about the 500CR’s role. It was designed as an entry-level plate boat for buyers ready to move into a better-engineered aluminium boat without stepping up to a bigger, pricier model. Bar Crusher didn’t water down the construction to hit a lower price. It kept the same Rigideck sub-floor (full-depth stringers and cross frames), welded checkerplate floor and Waveslicer hull used across the range, just on a smaller footprint.
What Made It Slightly Different
Compared with other models in the range at the time, the 500CR carried a little less fuel and had a slightly wider, tapered chine flat running down the side of the hull. That tweak improved stability at rest, which matters proportionally more on a smaller boat.
Standard Features, Even at the Entry Level
In line with Bar Crusher’s “standard, not optional” approach, the 500CR still came with cast aluminium rod holders, hydraulic steering, quality wiring, a removable baitboard, a clear-bowl fuel filter and toughened glass windscreens. At the helm, pivot-and-slide seats and an easy-to-read dash made for a practical layout. Clip-on sides were also available for families boating with children, a detail that shows the boat’s positioning as an accessible, family-friendly first plate boat.
Where This Model Leads Today
The 500CR/535CR name has since been retired. Bar Crusher’s model history traces it directly to today’s 535C, now built on the Gen2 hull with Delta Flare and 217L of Quickflow water ballast. If the entry-level, family-friendly idea here appeals, the 535C carries it forward. You can read how the 535CR performed in Trade-A-Boat’s 2013 review, or build and quote today’s 535C.
