BAR CRUSHER 730C BOAT REVIEW

Bar Crusher’s ‘C’ or cabin series models have now been top sellers for many years. As far as general purpose fishing/family boats go, the cabin versions offer plenty in sizes from 535 upward. We have featured most of the ‘C’ models in these pages over the years, and have always been impressed by their versatility and, of course, their capabilities in rough water.

Recently we took the 730C for a run out of North Haven, which turned out to be quite a blast. The test boat, set up by Pacific Marine, was powered by a Honda BF250, which is right there in the middle of the recommended horse power range. The 730 is a fair lump of boat that offers a substantial volume of cockpit space for serious fishing; in fact, it is comfortably bigger aft of the helm than any other model. I borrowed one from Pacific Marine a few years ago to use while filming off Yorke Peninsula with IFish, and was blown away by the space we had to work in. That model, by the way, has been superseded by the new boat we tested recently. Most readers would be familiar with the Bar Crusher design that offers a deep forefoot and substantial deadrise for optimum ride in choppy conditions. However, these two characteristics would combine to undermine stability if not for the hulls’ brilliant sub-deck water ballast system. In the 730 hull that ballast chamber has a capacity of over 600 litres, which means an extra 600kg of weight is taken in when the boat is at rest, increasing static stability immensely. As soon as power is applied and the boat comes onto the plane, all that ballast water is jettisoned and you’re up and away without it. It’s about as clever as it gets in trailer boat design.

Like all models from Bar Crusher, the standard of welding and general construction in the 730C is second to none in Aussie aluminium boat building. Having seen first-hand how these boats are put together, I can vouch for their toughness and durability. The whole construction process is high-tech and closely monitored from start to finish. Like most manufacturers of high-end products these days, the Bar Crusher factory in Melbourne is almost surgically clean and incredibly well organised – certainly far removed from the early days of alloy boat building in Australia.

To my way of thinking at least, the 730 is probably the best proportioned hull in the range. It’s relatively beamy for length and not ridiculously heavy to tow. You could get by comfortably with a Hilux, Ranger or similar SUV to pull and launch it, and it will run efficiently enough with outboards from 200hp upwards. Surprisingly, Bar Crusher now quotes 350 as maximum power for the 730 hull, which seems a tad over the top to me.

The 730C comes with a collapsible cabin top, which is very handy for those with restrictive garage or carport height. There’s sufficient space up forward to stretch out if so desired and, as already mentioned, there’s a mob of fishing room out back. It’s about 2.14m from the seats to the transom, which means four or five could fish comfortably on a whiting patch. It also means you could throw on a 200 litre ice box to handle barrel-sized bluefin if you are that way inclined.

Bar Crusher has come a long way with its internal fit out and fishing-oriented extras list since we bought our first boat back in 2014. I really like the bait table with dual storage drawers for knives, pliers and hook-out guns, the tackle storage lockers beneath the helm seat, and also those neat little tackle ‘pockets’ on the passenger seat frame. It’s a very fishingfriendly layout that will appeal to the most serious of anglers.

All the good ‘old’ bits, like the flush-mounted removable berley bucket, long side pockets and large capacity recirculating live bait tank are still part of the standard package. And, for the big tuna chasers you still get a reasonable sized transom door that makes dragging those 100plus bluefin into the boat possible – something we found to be a Godsend last season off Marion Bay. With just two of us on board our 670, we just managed to drag/ wrestle close to 300 pounds of tuna through that gate and onto the deck. Heaving over the side would have been impossible!

The other two 730s I had driven over the years had been fitted with Honda BF200s, so I was interested to see how much (if any) difference the extra 50 horses would make. Acceleration from rest was about as clean and crisp as you could ask for and, with a couple on board, we topped out at a tad over 40 knots. That’s pretty damn quick – certainly quick enough for me – and I was equally impressed by the comfortable cruise of 28 knots at 3400rpm. This is where premium fuel economy would be achieved, of course. I can’t begin to imagine how fast this rig would be with the maximum 350 option on the transom!

Like all Bar Crushers, the 730C is remarkably stable at rest or on the drift. As soon as that big ballast chamber fills with water (which takes just a few seconds after settling), the hull sits like a rock on the water. This makes it comfortable and easy to move around in typical fishing situations, and is a feature few other big alloy trailer boats can match. Fitting an optional bar flap to this (or any) Bar Crusher enables the operator to trap and hold ballast water if so desired – a definite advantage while travelling in some sea conditions. On the flip side, the option of closing the flap while launching increases the boat’s buoyancy, which can be very handy during a beach launch or on a ramp when the tide is down. We have a bar flap on our 670XT and use it consistently in locations like Marion Bay, Pondalowie Bay and similar locations where water depth is nearly always an issue. There is no doubt that the new generation Bar Crusher 730C would be a great choice for serious sportfishers, or more casual anglers looking for a versatile, spacious family rig. It’s by no means a budget outfit, but nor is it over the top in price.