Barcrusher 640 cabin or Trailcraft 660 Sports/Centre Cab

[betrade]

Hi all

Tried this question at another forum, but didnt get much of an answer, so thought I would give it a try here. I am very interested in what you have to say about all three boats.


I have narrowed my next boat down to these three. Whilst not be able to test drive yet, am after some feedback from owners

Does the Water ballast Quick flow on the Barcrusher really work? Is the boat relatively stable at rest. I have kids, who like to fish, but dont like too much rocking and rolling?

I cant see any scuppers in the catalog, are they located low to the desk to let out the water? Dealer is awaiting stock up here, so havent seen one up real close yet, beside briefly at the Boat show, and was more interested in the Trailcrafts at that time. The Traily's extra beam does seem to make them a lot bigger

Trailcraft?- they look to be big and solid- how do they handle a following sea? Big wide arse could mean broaching? Anyone got one, and can you advise if this has happened to you?

Any constructive comments will be appreciated? Specifically want a Plate boat, as we leave the boat on the beach when we camp, so glass is no good. 7 metre tides- I am in Darwin

Regards

B

[bennyboy]

Two quote different boats there mate.

The water ballast on the Bar Crusher gives you an extra 7 or 800 kg's sitting in the keel. It stops the rocking and rolling and you can have 5 guys on one sie and no one on the other and it's no worries.

The scuppers are up under the rear shelf behind the rear folding seat.

The two boats are very different. Bar Crusher is plate, Trailcraft is pressed.
Bar Crusher has a deep V and a smooth ride, Trailcraft has a flat hull so will pound in the rough stuff. Don't know if they are prone to broaching but it's doesn't happen in the Bar Crusher.

If your looking at spending that kind of money I would fly down to Melbourne and go for a run out of the Bar Crusher factory.

Cheers

[Tube_Worm]

Another plate boat to have a look at in that size range is the Stabicraft 659 Super Cab.

[betrade]

Hi there,

Yeah, have seen the bigger models of this. Will have to check them out, but thought that they may be a little out of my price rane?

Regards

B

[shags101]

the best place to see barcrushers is blakes marine at windsor nsw they do a better price than buying direct out of the factory ex melb an have most models in stock

[betrade]

Hi Shags,

Thanks for that, tried to reply to your PM, but am having technical difficulties.

Another question for Bar Crusher owners.

I camp out a fair bit, and we leave the boat on the beach. With tre Water Ballast, do you have trouble refloating your rig? I would imagine the 400kg or more extra weight will make it a bit harder?

Anyone else camp out and do this? Any issues?

Regards

B

[julian1]

i have a mate that beach launch's his Barcrusher as it is his only choice. He does have trouble with the ballast tube as the boat draws a lot of water and is also 400kg heavier, i would certainly consider this and yes i would be having a look at the Stabi

[snelly1971]

Go for a Tri Star....alot cheaper boat and they are built tonka tuff..

Mick

[bushbeachboy]

G'day betrade,
Welcome to the site mate. If you are looking at plate boats, have a look at the Fisher Boats website. Col (the owner and manufacturer) is a member here and would be able to give you accurate information. There are quite a few Fisher owners here too that could advise you.

On another tack, have you looked at the 6 metre Polycraft or is a a bit too small for your needs? It's a very stable boat and tough as old boots.
Cheers
BBB

[Oog.]

Hi betrade,
if you want to sleep in the cab of the barcrusher i hope you are not over 5' tall,as you wont be very comfortable.They have have great back deck room at the expense of the cabin room. I would not make any decision until you have been out in one and compared it to some of the other great plate boats that are available.
hope this helps
oog.

[betrade]

Thanks to all for their suggestions,

Will look further into the Stabi, and will look up the Fisher. I really need over 6 metres, as the kids are all growing so quick, and we need the extra space. Plus would love to get over to the Tiwi Islands a bit more this built up to the wet, as well as do some trips down to thte Peron Islands. I guess by the time I have decided, it will be the wet!! Oh well, next year whent the rain has stopped then!!

Regards to all, and thanks for all your suggestions

B

[wheelerdog]

check the width of the trailcraft, i'll think you'll find they are over width and technically you may require a permit, ie over 2.5m wide.

I have done many mile in a stabi and found them to spine snappers, the dead rise is fairly flat.

i have had nothing to do with a BC.

[Tube_Worm]

betrade,
I can guarantee yoy that the stabis are not spine slappers as I own the smaller 559 and the ride is great and no other plate tinny in the same size range you are looking at would come close to the stabi's stability IMO - the ballast systen does not stack up against the pontoons of the stabi as far as stability is concerned. When I was deciding on a boat to purchase before I bought my stabi I went for a test ride on a 560 Bar Crusher on the very same day - the ride was very good but no better than the stabi IMO. The stability though was chalk and cheese - we stuck 3 people on 1 side of the BC, with its ballast water sytem and it leant over considerably whilst on the stabi it hardly moved. The stabi would shine in your case as far as beach launching is concerned because you haven't got all that ballast water to worry about.
If the 659 stabi is out of your price range there is also a 609 supercab version.

In the end it is you who has to decide and I would definately encourage you to go out on test drives of any of the boats you are considering, especially when you are outlaying the money you are looking at. You might have a totally different view to any of our thoughts on here.

Cheers

[Bandy3]

Hi All
My first ever post here on this forum but there is more than one pontoon boat manufacturer out there- I've seen a few and read the spec sheets and did a lot of research before buying my hull.
Have a look at Aqualine as marketed in Aust or Kiwikraft as known in NZ.
Do a google au or nz search on them.

These are one hell of a quality made ali pontoon boat, I doubt you would find a better quality welded boat around- "a big call" I know.
I am a 1st class qualified welder so I back my judgement, plus a few mates who are "coded" have been more than impressed with the welding and finish, I'm not knocking any quality aussie tradee's welding work out there either, but they are pretty impressive, and that is an aussie talking about a kiwi here !!!

I was so impressed... I bought one after a trip to South Is NZ.- the wife hates me for that holiday now- turned out to be expensive in more ways than one-ha. ha. ha.

A mate of mine who used to punch out ali boats for a well known boat maker in West Aust who has inspected my hull was blown away by it's quality and he is a fussy bugger too, and there isn't an ounce of paint or bog on my hull, she is pure and natural- distortion free.

You should hear the stories he can tell about some boat building practices he has witnessed ...scary.

Sort of leads on to this....

From what I have been reading recently on these internet fishing forums about the cocky shit welds the massed produced aussie boats have been put together with.
Then when the owners are having a bit of a decent look into there hulls have found it- I'd reckon I would be pretty peeved too.
Just who is doing the Q.A. on these boats ???? - What codes are they falling under.
Are the tradees actually qualified or is a bunch of 1st yr apprentices been let rip on a free for all, I'd say it is the old get it out the door quick your on a piece rate contract.

Or are all the good guys out working the mines / construction jobs etc on the good coin to afford to go fishing these days, catch 22 isn't, you sort of have to these days if you want to buy your own home and go fishing- It is not always going to be boom times.

Another scenerio- the good guys become custom boutique boat builders with a long waiting list for there fine products.

Employ 2nd class tradespeople get a 2nd rate product, but when you have payed top dollar for a quality product that hurts.....Don't worry I have just experienced that recently and what a sour tastse that leaves in your mouth, that was in the building industry, I was told I was too fussy (sorry if I am a tradee from the old school and would of copped a No 9 up the kyber as an apprentice if the boss wasn't happy) if I had a D9 it would of gone thru the place under there builders insurance they still had the keys- amazing what happens when you speak to someone with decent management skills in customer relations...Things happens to satisfy both parties.

sorry off the subject a little.

In NZ there is the CPA code I think it is called- pretty stringent.

But...you get what you pay for and the Aqualines are not a mass produced boat and never will be-only about 200 a year get fabricated under this strict code- 14 staff only
Stabi's are also CPA certified / massed produced but with decent QA.
Senator brand are another with a big following in NZ.

So ....Please just don't think Stabi's are the only ones around, there are some other pontoon boat options but they are just not as well marketed as the Stabi's in Aust.

Yes there is a big difference in the ride quality of pontoon boats as well- I reasearch a lot on that issue as well before I purchased.
I have heard comments like one previously mentioned before in this post but won't elaborate.
Don't want to start a war, I've posted this just as another option to the well made Stabi's.

And as a one eyed happy Aqualine owner, ha ha ha .

Sure ....all boats types will always have there down falls, picking and choosing the relevant compromises of these factors is what it is all about.

To sum up... that is what I like about these fishing forums, the wealth of information you can learn from peoples experiences and problems.

Please...`I don't want to upset any stabi owners by this post" or any others who own a 600 hp,etec 4 strokes furuno northstar imported from the US. running on Bio fuel rods from North Korea bought off ebay... LOL.

Now ...aren't they touchy subjects !!!

cheers.
Different boats for different folks and my nearly 90 AUD cents worth.

And I wish you well on your decision.

[wheelerdog]

the stabi's are terrific at rest and they are aloo perform great in a following sea, however in nasty chop you will come 2inches shorter when heading into a strong SE. that is in a 589 stabi with 140 johno 4 stroke