Bar Crusher 490 WR and 490C: Review

With their keen $37-38K price tags, the two new 490 Bar Crushers bring the brand within reach of more people. The 490C is a tough all-round cuddy cabin in the popular Bar Crusher ‘mould’. Essentially, it’s a scaled-down version of the bigger Bar Crushers we have come to love. The 490WR is called a walk-around, but it’s really a centre console. This variant is definitely for keen anglers, perhaps divers and even those seeking a workboat. Cuddy or console, that’s your choice and we arrived at ours after a head-to-head test beyond Sydney Harbour.

OVERVIEW
- The reason these Baby Bar Crushers came about is pure and simple
In the original news release on these twin Bar Crusher 490s, the Melbourne manufacturer said it wanted to "provide anglers with a smaller boat that had all the engineering of the larger Bar Crusher models but at a very reasonable price". Right between the posts. Goal kicked.

But there’s more to these boats than just size and price. In fact, in some ways they are the two factors of least consequence. For the 490 in cuddy cabin and centre console guise somehow achieve much more than their dimensions and accessible ticket suggest. On the water, these boats grow on you and become giant killers.

Admittedly, when we first set eyes on the 490C at the 2015 Melbourne International Boat Show, we thought, wow, that's a cute little Crusher. Among today’s de rigueur six-metre-plus rigs, the 490C looks small on its single-axle trailer. You could have easily walked past in the field of bigger rigs.

Playing undercover spy, we leant against the gunwales to get some market feedback. As one would-be buyer in-the-know proffered, all the 490C needed was a hardtop in keeping with its sister ships. We both chuckled at his suggestion, but these boats are a lot more serious than they might at first appear.

Approaching our test pick-up point, the 490s had a well-balanced profile and a good amount of forward and stern freeboard, despite the shared hull’s sharp entry, raked profile and the 100kg-plus four-stroke 60hp Suzuki outboards on their tails.

Once we set foot aboard, stowed the gear, and took control of the helm, these boats suddenly grew on us. They seem much bigger than the modest rigs in the showroom. Next minute, we were heading offshore in 20 knots of wind. It was then that these little Bar Crushers took on a life all of their own. They are nothing if not seaworthy.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Sydney boat show special rigs for $37-$38K from Blakes Marine
The 490s were set-up by Bar Crusher dealer, Blakes Marine, as enticing 2015 Sydney Boat Show rigs. Both variants come standard with a 60-litre underfloor fuel tank, cast-aluminium rod holders, heavy-duty boarding ladder, berley bucket, LED lighting and rating for a 40-70hp outboard.

We had the inline-three-cylinder 60hp four-stroke EFI Suzuki DF60A outboard on both boats, with 20in legs and mechanical steering, which was absolutely fine. After 2.5 hours running, each DF60A had each used less than five litres of premium! We kid you not.

Along with the 60hp Suzuki, the 490s came on matched ready-to-roll, self-centring Easytow trailers with disc brakes and a Bar Catch to assist single-handed launch and retrieval. The on-road rig weights of 800kg (WR) to 840kg (C) make these boats easy to tow behind mid-range two-wheel-drive family cars.

There were white-painted hulls, removable cutting boards and underfloor kill tanks, battery and isolator switch, bucket seats on the 490C and an 80-litre Esky with seat cushion on the 490WR, 12V plugs, and a basic four-inch Garmin GMi20 multifunction gauge on each dash hooked up to a GPS aerial for engine data such as lt/hr, fuel, range, speed, rpm and trim.

As tested, the 490C was selling for about $37,500 drive away. You will still need a marine radio ($450 installed), decent fish finder (say $750) and a bimini for shade ($750), but you are still getting a 490C rig on road ready to fish for under $40K.

With wider fishing applications including inshore and offshore, fresh and saltwater, the 490WR also featured an electric bow-mount bracket and our test boat had a plumbed live-bait tank under the cutting-board lid. The 490WR was a $38K drive-away package that, with a fish finder, marine radio and say that electric motor, comes in about $40K fish ready.

Of course, there’s plenty of scope to customise your 490s from the options lists. But with boats like this you can do a lot of the fitout yourself. It’s just 12V wiring with fuses after all.

To this end, there is good access under the gunwales and behind the dash to run wiring, plenty of room for a few aftermarket storage solutions like tubs and live-bait tanks, and scope to improve fishing rod storage with racks. Add some rubber flooring, safety gear grab bag and EPIRB, GoPro on mounts, and you’re away.

LAYOUT AND DESIGN
- Mini cuddy cabin with weather protection and centre console with more fishing space
Let’s start with the 490C cuddy cabin. On a blustery winter’s day, the protection afforded by the cabin superstructure and high-aspect windscreen was appreciated. This is a better attack boat for crossing bars, tackling southern fisheries and cold climates.

The cuddy features side pockets for dry storage, scope to carry a sail bag or tub (retained by a lip that doubles as your helm footrest) on the floor, and a hatch to the anchor set-up with split bow rail, bowsprit and roller. You can fit a Stress Free anchor winch at factory level for a few grand, but I’d run a side-anchoring system from a tub and springer instead.

After checking on the anchor set-up through the hatch, access for which works just fine, I managed to then lean up against the hull sides whereupon it dawned on me that a roll-up foam mattress might create a bachelor fishing pad between strikes or for crook crew in here.

Back outside, there are grab rails for helm and co-pilot but a windscreen grab rail wouldn’t go astray. The dash layout and wheel are elementary, but there is good flat mounting space behind the screen for that fish finder.

The boat had a helm storage pocket for personal effects and pedestal seats mounted on storage boxes. Side pockets trace the cockpit and there is a rear-mounting ledge under the transom for battery and more.

There is toe-under or toe-kick space below these pockets, right around this boat and its checker-plate floor, which assists when fishing and leaning into the gunwales. That we did and we were pleasantly surprised by the stability. The gunwales were topped with a Sea-Dek-like foam material and will be kind on human extremities and reel handles when you stick a rod in the holder.

The 490C transom, with the cutting board with rod holders, side rails and berley bucket, was ready to fish. The boat’s checker-plate cockpit space is big enough for three anglers, but ideally a couple. This boat would make a great at-anchor snapper rig, trolling platform, pocket bluewater and wide-open bay boat. It would be very much at home somewhere like South West Rocks, with a little creek or river bar crossing to some near-shore game fishing.

But for fishing I found it hard to go past the 490WR, with its forward casting platform that let’s you pitch baits, lures and flies, and fight fish from bow to stern. And with a boat of this size, you do want to maximise your fishing space. With an electric motor, you would have a brilliant sportsfisher for bay and flats fishing, inland impoundments, barra, as well as bluewater.

Below the forward casting platform is dry storage in which you could stow key safety items in large waterproof bags just to make sure. There are a couple of drink holders, more likely for holding lures, but fly fishers might want to leave the cross bollards off the bow (fit just one in the anchor well where the anchor winch would go) to reduce the risk of fouled lines.

 A forward hatch in the console provides good access to the dash wiring, and there is a little more dry storage in here, too. There are also full-length side pockets. But the underfloor ‘fish box’ bait well on both boats is undersized for what we catch. A zip-up fish bag might be needed.

On the 490WR, you can use the 80-litre padded icebox seat for carrying your table fish. Our test boat had the upgraded live-bait tank under the cutting board lid, but we would probably add a bigger DIY round tank with pickup somewhere for carrying bigger baits.

One thing missing at factory level is a grab rail at the helm console. There was a rail on the forward face of the console, but you’re not going to reach across there in rough water to hold on. Mounting a rail on top of the console and a few fabricated aluminium rod racks for storage alongside makes sense to us.

Both boats also had excellent dealer engine fitups, while the welds and finish were as good as you’ll find on a production plate boat. The rigs look smart and with all that signature checker-plate deck and concealed storage, they have a lot of obvious fishing appeal.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- The Gen2 hull design with Rigideck frame system
Bar Crusher coins quite some nomenclature and these boats had theGen2 hull with Rigideck frame system utilising a Waveslicer hull with Delta Flare and Quickflow water ballast. Got it? OK, let’s break it down.

The plate-alloy hull has 4mm bottom and 3mm sides, with an internal sub-floor grid system with checker-plate floor welded firmly atop that to create a monocoque structure. The hull utilises a deep-vee with wide aft chines and a water-ballasted keel section for exceptional stability. There are pronounced spray rails in the bow sections.

Although the babies in the range, the 490s felt like well-made robust little boats that you could drag around coral country, off-the-beaten-track to backwaters, up north and down south without issue. The hulls have basic buoyancy and excellent direct access to their bilge pump.

ON THE WATER
- Stable, dry and smooth riding
Put it all together and here’s what we found. The 490s have surprisingly good lift and freeboard so you are unlikely to put a wave aboard. Even with two or three anglers standing at the transom, it’s all nice and dry. With two adults on one side to land a mock fish, the boats exceeded our stability expectations.

Bar Crusher says the 490s were launched after extensive testing in 20-knot winds. We had similar conditions for our tests and the boats were reassuring. The Melbourne boatbuilder’s aluminium hulls have always had a big reputation for performance and the ride is definitely smooth for a plate boat. Most of the spray, even on the centre console or WR, exits behind the helm line.

The 490s had good trim response, but the 17in three-blade props immediately let you know when there was too much out-trim in tight turns. So like most small aluminium boats, these are rigs with which you use trim to good effect.

Speed-wise, and on the day, the 490WR returned 30.2 knots at 6050rpm with the leg trimmed out. We clocked a fast cruise of 23-24 knots at 5000-5100rpm for 12.6ltr/hr, and a very nice 21-22 knots cruise at an economical 4700rpm for 9lt/hr.

If you want to maximise your range, 4000rpm returned 17.5 knots for 7.2lt/hr and a range from 90 per cent of the 60-litre tank of 130nm-plus. There appeared to be a similar range at 3750rpm and 15 knots, using 6.2lt/hr. The Suzukis are hardly working at these revs.

There was snappy hole shot and agility on the WR. Plane on both boats kicks in about 3200rpm. But there was one knot less speed on the 490C at 3750rpm, 1.5 knots less at 4000rpm, until similar figures emerged from 4000rpm and above.

So there’s really not much in the speed comparison. However, with the cabin structure, the 490C was a noisier boat and the forward helm position puts you closer to the impact zone. The upside is the better weather protection.

VERDICT
- Fishing is the name of the game
Stable, smooth riding, relatively dry, efficient, affordable and well-made, hey, what's not to like about these new baby Bar Crushers? Don’t be deceived by what appear to be diminutive hulls. The 490s punch above their weight and are very confidence inspiring offshore.

For our money, and the likely application of fishing, the 490WR wins out. That forward casting area comes not at the expensive of seaworthiness. But you get an even more versatile boat for a greater array of fishing applications. And there’s a lot to be said for a good jacket when the wind is on the quarter and you’re riding home.

That said, the 490C has been the better seller in Sydney following our tests. So some buyers scaling down are still looking for comforts. As we said, it’s your call on the layout. Either way, these are excellent little Crusher rigs.

RATINGS
Overall rating: 4.56/5.0 (91.2 per cent)
Mechanical/equipment: 4.0/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.7/5.0
On the water Performance: 4.8/5.0
Value for money: 4.8/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

LIKES
>> Seaworthy little Bar Crushers that punch above their weight
>> Excellent value for money with the same big boat build quality
>> An impressive combination of ride comfort and stability at rest
>> Great fishing layouts with abundant space, storage
>> Low maintenance plate rigs

NOT SO MUCH
>> Cross bollards on bow of WR will foul (fly) lines
>> No top grab rail on WR centre console

Specifications:
Bar Crusher 490C and 490WR
Price as tested: $37,500/$38,000 with Suzuki DF60A four-stroke, Easytow trailers and options as detailed above in 'Price and Equipment' section
Priced from: $36,990/$36,750 with 60hp Suzuki DF60A four-stroke
LOA: 4.90m
Beam: 2.00m
Internal freeboard: 600mm
Bottom sides: 4mm
Top sides: 3mm
Weight: 840kg/800kg
Overall trailer length: 6.05m
Overall trailer width: 2.10m
Height on trailer: 1.80m
Fuel: 60-litre underfloor
People day: Five
Engine: Suzuki DF60A
Power output: 60hp @ 5300-6300 rpm
Type: inline three cylinder 4-stroke DOHC 16-valve
Weight: 104kg
Displacement: 941cc
Propeller: three-blade 17 inch

Supplied by:
Blakes Marine
1 Railway Road North, Mulgrave, 2756
Tel: (02) 4577 6699; Email: sales@blakesmarine.com.au
Website: www.blakesmarine.com.au
  
Manufactured by:
Bar Crusher
5 Quality Drive, Dandenong, South Vic, 3175
Tel: (03) 9792 2999; Email: info@barcrusher.com.au
Website: www.barcrusher.com.au