THE YOU-BOAT
Bar Crusher 670C by Brendan Wing

Over the years I have owned, driven and tested more boats than I can remember.  Everything from 10ft tinnies to high-speed fishing boats to Sports Cruisers.  It was even my job for several years.  So it's fair to say I have formed some very strong opinions on what makes a good boat whether it be for fishing, recreation or other.  Opinions that are based on thousands of hours of sea time.  Right now I have in my stable; a 400HP 7mtr Cootacraft Big Ram, a 300HP 8mtr AluFarm and a 150HP 6mtr Bar Crusher.  The two bigger boats are work boats, co-owned with my mates, and their only purpose is to take out  numbers of people on charter.  The smallest, the Bar Crusher 670C, is my personal fishing boat and it goes everywhere I go to make YouFishTV.  Whether it be on the high seas off Portland or up in the back waters of Western Port my boat is setup to do absolutely any form of fishing I ask her to do.  That's the thing about Bar Crushers, they are designed and built by a team of engineers and fishermen with one purpose in mind, to go fishing.  Every single detail on the boat is conceived with fishing in mind and so there is very little you can do to improve a Bar Crusher off the factory floor.  Standard they have such things as a transom door, live-bait tank, LED cockpit and cabin lighting, rocket launcher, baitboard, underseat tackle storage, underfloor fish bin and lots more making it a pleasure to fish out of one.  The boat has heaps of space and fishes up to 5 people with room to spare which is handy when filming.  Some of the options I have included are high pressure deckwash, 4 x Hella spotlights, electric trim-tabs, twin battery system, Lowrance HDS7, Stress-Free electric anchor/winch and 2 x custom stainless steel rod racks.  The end result is simple, a boat that is equally at home game trolling as it is  lure casting as it is sitting at anchor soaking a bait.  

RIDE
Well the 670C (formerly the 620C) is what it is, a quality plate aluminium boat.  This means its an audible experience compared to glass but the ride itself compares to and in some cases is better than many modern glass boats I have driven.  No signs of broaching ever, no signs of misbehaving at speed when travelling into, side-on to or downhill with big or small  seas.  This is a breath of fresh air and something I love and appreciate very much about the 670C, it really is as simple as 'set and forget' most of the time which frees the mind to think about fishing.   I cannot say this about my big rigs.  It tends to be at its wettest when driving quarter-on into a strong wind/sea but simply pull down the roof and you are sealed into the cabin.  And becasue the windscreen is glass not perspex your vision day or night remains excellent.  At anchor it is extremely stable thanks to the flooding keel design of the boat.  I weigh 147kgs and the boat barely leans when I walk to one side making it on par with my bigger boats.  Drving position and seat style/position enable you to lock your body into driving position for those fast running days on rough seas.  Awesome fun. 

THE FINISH
The finish of the boat is impeccable.  The paint is first class and some car manufacturers would do well to take note.  Every atom of the vessel including the welds are finished with perfection.  This is something I probably notice more than most thanks to my automotive refinishing background and something Bar Crusher should be proud of.  Even the paint on the inside roof of the cabin is perfect for goodness sake.  The word surgical comes to mind when I think of the finish standard.
 
POWER, ECONOMY and TOWING
Lets not get too techical here.  The 150HP EFI Suzuki motor is like all 4-strokes, quiet and economical.  This gives the 670C a massive range.  So far the most fuel I have used in a single day is 100 litres and that was on a 200km round trip to the shelf off Green Cape NSW which included about 5 hours of trolling at the shelf.  Its pretty normal for me to do half a dozen Western Port trips before refuelling and even with this being the case, the most fuel it has taken in one go is 142lts.  This is about what the Big Ram's ETECs use in one charter if Shaun is driving and in a happy mood.  Hi mate.  Top speed on the GPS is 39.4 knots or about 45mph when trimmed right out one-up.  Fast enough for any fisho.  With a BMT combined weight of 1700kgs this 6.2mtr vessel can be and is towed by my family 6-cyl Ford Falcon G6E Turbo and it does it easily. The Easy Tow trailer must take some credit for NO swaying issues on the open road.  Tows like a dream.

THE VERDICT
Some people measure boats on how fast they go or how much air time they get or how soft they ride or how stable or dry and so on.  Well most people with boating experience know there is no such thing as perfect boat when it comes to all these things.  Where you gain in one area you sacrifice in another.  This is just the way it is.  However for what I do; lots of travelling, lots of different styles of fishing, sometimes with lots lots of people and occasionally solo, both inshore and offshore, this boat is about as perfect as I can get.  Its not too big that its hard to handle on my own or tow, and its not so small that I have to head in at the sign of some wind.  In fact, its a pretty formidable rough weather boat.  So in just about every single aspect it gets top marks from me and I have to say the 670C is the single finest boat I have had as my own.  Its fast, comfortable, well thought out and set-up, easy to maintain and clean, robust, fuel efficient, stable, easy to tow and last but not least my little black rig looks cool.  I love her.  Full set of pics here
 

QUICK FACTS

ENGINE: 150HP EFI Suzuki Frour Stroke XL
TRAILER: Easy Tow Tandem
SOUNDER GPS: Lowrance HDS7
LIGHTING: Hella Marine
STAINLESS: Chris Haigh
ANCHOR WINCH: Stress-Free
STEERING: Hydraulic
RADIO: GME 27Mhz
FUEL TANK: 200lts
BATTERIES: Twin System
TOP SPEED: 44mph. 




Written by Brendan Wing 7-10-2010