Bar Crusher 500CR

With the advent of the Wave Crusher Series, a Bar Crusher is now within reach of those that have been restrained by a limited budget -- and you will be losing nothing in the quality department should you go in that direction.

The Wave Crusher CR (cuddy runabout) is the smallest Bar Crusher available and a great entry-level price point boat for those who want to get into the Bar Crusher brand.

Used are many of the engineered Bar Crusher features that this brand is famous for such as the Rigideck sub-floor frame, welded-in tread plate floor for strength and the Waveslicer hull for a soft ride through wind chop.

Some of the features you will get in this boat are barely noticed but rate a mention as they are some of the 'out of sight out of mind' inclusions that make a boat last; and longevity of life has a direct bearing on resale value.

Cast aluminium rod holders instead of plastic are installed about the boat and hydraulic steering is standard. A tinned wiring loom is used which should be the case with every boat but sadly that is not the case. And high-tensile 5083 plate aluminium will keep the hull looking smart as it ages.

The package comes with a custom-designed trailer with plenty of guides and a full ladder of keel rollers that goes under all Bar Crushers to make launch and retrieve a stress-free affair.

This boat will be economical to run with horsepower in the 70hp to 100hp range. Being light to tow you won’t be looking at large tow vehicles such as Land Cruisers to get from home to the ramp. Rather, a family sedan will do the job nicely.

The 500CS has an open layout with spacious, flat checker-plate deck that extends to the bow on the same plane.

Entry to the cabin is via a large aperture that is only slightly impeded by a small helm station on which the wheel and instrumentation is laid out. With not enough fascia space for flush-mounted instruments, gimbal-mounted GPS and or sounders will have plenty of flat space on the top of the dash which sits behind a manufactured windscreen frame.

One of the options on this boat is passenger seating which is strong and sturdy and hooks over the lip of the side and rear storage pockets and may be moved about as required. Some handy tackle stowage could be organised inside these frames if need be.

Short cabin bunks consist of box sections that are bolted to the flat deck. Water will seep under these boxes so some aftermarket silicon will be needed to keep the contents dry at a later stage.

Access to and working the ground tackle has been made easier with the rebating of the forward end of the bunks to allow plenty of standing room while the torso is through the opened cabin-roof hatch.

For the fisher, a combination three-rod holder and bait board stands on a single post on the transom bulkhead, and a burley pot with muncher is installed through the wide and uncluttered boarding platform.

The slightly less deadrise and flatter chines of this hull compared with its sister models did not seem to make any difference to the way it handled chop.
And there was plenty of the that. As we left Patterson River and travelled into Port Philip Bay a strong wind warning was current and it had the obvious effect on the conditions.

The hull performed well and the ride was soft and dry so there is not much more you could expect from it. The 500CR exhibits excellent hard turning with minimal slip and all round, performs very well.

In the final washup this is a very good boat for the money and great way to get into the highly-respected Bar Crusher brand.