Bar Crusher 615BR Review

Bear's Best Boat Tests

Bar Crusher has proven that great fishing boats can also be terrific family boats with its 615BR (Bow Rider). Melbourne-based Bar Crusher Boats is one of the biggest names in Australian boating with a devoted following displaying mania more likened to an AFL or NRL footy team than a boat brand. Just like a popular footy team, they have their crowd of disciples and knockers; it's just the Aussie way!

In my opinion, there's not much to knock. When it comes down to basics, mainstream mono hull plate aluminium trailer boats are made in one of two ways. There’s the big, beamy craft with shallow deadrise to give stability to their lightweight displacement, or there’s the deep-V designs with more aggressive entry and deadrise that generally provide a softer ride, mostly with flooding ballast for added stability at rest.

Bar Crusher has certainly been at the forefront in Australia for marketing the deep-V/flooding ballast concept in alloy boats, but don't think it’s anything new. In fact, flooding ballast has been used in boat design for centuries and in fibreglass trailer boats since the early 1960s.

Deep-V Pedigree

This Bar Crusher 615 time-proven hull is the evolution of the original 560C that first graced Australian waters around 25 years ago. The 18-20 degree deep-V strakeless ‘Waveslicer’ hull design has been heavily developed to evolve into the Gen2 with 'Delta Flare’. According to Bar Crusher, the Gen2 hulls combine "a wider negative chine running forward, optimised wider chine aft and the distinctive Delta Flare — delivering greater hydrodynamic lift for more efficient planing and improved fuel economy, a higher bow attitude and better spray deflection for a dryer ride, as well as increased stability at rest”.

Bar Crushers have always been tough workhorses with legendary reputations from both offshore and inshore devotees. Yet the development of the bow rider configuration has spread the general popularity amongst blood 'n' guts fishos and divers taking them further into the realm of widespread family acceptance. Mum and the kids just love the bowrider with the bonus of wind in their hair, or maybe just a quiet spot to soak up some sun while the rest of the clan are fishing out in back.

Yet the bowrider configuration has one more, and perhaps less obvious advantage. Simply remove the cushions and slip in the insert and the bow lounge immediately transforms into a large and stable casting platform, complete with electric outboard mount. Modern fishos are flocking to lure tossing concepts and this latest Bar Crusher initiative hits the nail on the head. Bar Crusher calls it "the ultimate crossover boat!”

The new Bar Crusher 615BR measures 6.15m LOA with a 2.25m beam and is constructed from high-tensile 4mm (bottom and top sides) commercial marine-grade plate-aluminium. It’s rated to 150hp and comes with a 140L fuel tank. It is built to demanding CE specifications with Bar Crushers ‘Rigideck' sub-floor construction that includes full-length and depth stringers plus a virtual honeycomb of cross-sectional and triangulated frames guaranteeing enormous strength and rigidity.

It also features Bar Crushers ‘Quickflow’ ballast technology, where water floods into a sub-floor cavity providing excellent stability at rest, and then dumps quickly on take-off allowing a very smooth transition to plane and beyond. In fact, you never even feel the water escaping! An electric-actuated Bar Flap to trap the water ballast or lock water out is available as an option. This increases the weight of the package at the keel, allows more displacement weight for an ultra smooth ride in sloppy conditions, or can reduce draft by dumping the ballast in shallow-water applications.

We travelled to Victoria’s glorious Lake Eildon to test the 615BR with former Bar Crusher owner/director Peter Cleland and his lovely family. They are no different to most others when it comes to recreational boating; they don’t mind a good bit of fishing, but with three teenage kids, water sports are certainly high on the agenda.

Our demonstration boat was fitted with a 150HP Suzuki DF150A, 2867cc in-line four-cylinder DOHC 16 valve four-stroke weighing in at 240kg. This is the largest engine recommended for the hull’s 115-150hp power range and performed very well with quiet and fuel-efficient confidence up to a wide open throttle of 6200RPM, where we hit the rev-limiter with only two people on board and a full 140L of fuel at a frisky 66 km/h (36 knots). Peter tells me that he sells plenty of 615 packages with the 140HP Suzuki engine with its smaller 2087cc capacity, and while it still performs well up to a similar unloaded top speed, especially for fishing, it certainly lacks the pure grunt of the larger block 150 for water sports.

The 615BR is actually a lovely boat to drive and, in many ways, feels considerably larger than its model designation. This is probably due to the huge rear deck area combined with the walk-through windscreen and bow lounge/casting platform. It also seems sportier than the cuddy cabin models, and Bar Crusher has deliberately incorporated some more 'diamond cut' style technology in the construction for even greater aesthetic appeal.

Cabin & Deck

The package combines all of the Bar Crusher features that we have grown to love, including bolster seats on aluminium boxes with tackle storage in each, a plumbed live bait tank, cast alloy rod holders, a very workable transom including door with folding ladder, burley bucket built into the rear platform; a folding rear lounge with a shelf behind for batteries, electrical and plumbing storage, removable cutting board with rod holders, and a flooding kill tank under the checkerplate floor.

There’s yet another five-drawer tackle tray recessed into the side of the walk-thru, plenty of side pockets, bow seating and knick knack storage; a simple helm and passenger dash with a comfortable driver/passenger position, plus an optional Stress Free anchor winch up front. The windscreen has a very solid frame but is quite low, working in conjunction with a very strong targa/rocket launcher on a rugged and easily used folding mechanism for car port storage.

Wake boarding and surfing have become two of the most popular activities for trailer boat enthusiasts, so we had to give it a whirl with Peter’s son carving a few waves for the cameras whilst proud mums and dads watched on excitedly. Peter said: “We can wakeboard on a Saturday, put on the bow cover and bimini for a morning session chasing snapper or marlin on Sunday, and on a long weekend we can drop-in the bow-mount electric motor and cast lures for estuary and freshwater fish with the flexibility of converting the bow lounge to a casting platform.”

The Bar Crusher 615BR truly is the boat for all seasons – and all families!

Specifications

Length overall: 6.15m

Beam: 2.25m

Towing Weight BMT (Dry): Approx 1600 kg

Fuel capacity:  140 litres

Water capacity: nil litres

Power:  150HP Suzuki DF150A, 2867cc in-line four-cylinder DOHC 16 valve four-stroke

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