REVIEW: Bar Crusher 680C
The Bar Crusher 680C that I took delivery of in April 2007 not only met my expectations it exceeded them in every area. The whole package from the ground up is the safest most stable and fuel efficient trailer boat that I have ever had the pleasure of owning.
I picked the boat up on Thursday, drove back to my home in Horsham, then went down to Portland that evening (approximately 650km), early the next morning (Good Friday) we had our maiden voyage. My Mum, Dad and partner Annie headed out into Portland bay just to get the feel of the setup. There was an easterly wind of 20-35km pushing the sea up to 1.5m over a 1-2m swell and the boat handled the conditions like a dream – very stable in any direction with an extremely soft ride.
The launch and retrieve is a pleasure (we found that the boat is a real show stopper, it draws quite a large crowd wherever we go).
We have had lots of memorable fishing trips on the southern bluefin tuna, from Port McDonnell South Australia to Portland in Victoria. Some days we spent over 12 hours on the water as far south as 48nm South of the Cape Nelson Lighthouse. On one occasion the weather came up to the plus 50% of the forecast (28kn southwesterly) and we had quite an interesting trip back to port. The swell was already running from that direction at 3-5m and the sea was something that resembled a washing machine. The 680C did everything that Bar Crusher claimed. Soft stable ride, the wave slicing hull really does work even in conditions like that, all you have to do is slow down a bit. At no time did the boat make us feel unsafe.
As far as the fuel economy goes the whole package is by far the most economical craft I’ve had the pleasure owning. The Suzuki 200 V6 coupled to the 680C’s 280L fuel tank even on a big day out on the Southern Ocean trawling for tuna, we would only use up to around the 80L mark. When you look at the sea conditions that we had to negotiate on any given day out, that is an extremely good figure.
This boat really does catch fish. The quiet hull design doesn’t scare the fish we could run right over the schools and not put them down (I’ve been in some boats that you can’t get near the fish and they disappear).
We have had the boat for just six months and have clocked up over 100 engine hours. It doesn’t sound like much but when you reside more than 220km from the nearest boat ramp, it’s the old tyranny of time and distance. In that time the Bar Crusher has been a pleasure to tow and operate in any weather condition. The next trip is across the Nullarbor mid-December. They tell me the Sampson fish over there are ok, and then we are fishing from Karratha to Busselton, right across southern WA (we will miss the bit in between Esperance and Ceduna), and all of the South Australian coast and be back in Victoria mid-February.
The pleasure has been all mine.
Campbell
Victoria
