2002 Bar Crusher 5.50C

[knuckle]

Howdy all,
I am looking for some information that you guys may have on a 2002 Bar Crusher 550C, I am looking at purchasing this boat second hand and I am after specs on the model. I have searched the Bar crusher website and forums on this site and similar other but can’t find much on the 550C model.
I found alot of useful post on here, one in particular mentioning that the 530C is now the 575C and the 560C is now the 610C, but cant find much on a 550C model
I guess what im looking for are specs and ratings on the hull, according to the add its 5.75m overall, does this mean it’s spec'd the same as the current 575 Model?
Any help or advice on where to find this info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Knuckle

[Jarrah Jack]

Give Bar Crusher a ring direct. I'm told they are very good with the public and are happy to help.

[Moonlighter]

The 550 was one of the first Barcrushers to be sold inAustralia. It is the same hull as the 530C which is now called the 575. They have just changed the naming conventions based on different ways to measure the hulls.

Some of them were built in NZ and carry the original designers & builders name - Surtees - stamped on the starboard side boarding platform.

The equivalent Surtees model is the Workmate 5.5 - as per my avatar.

Cheers

ML

[knuckle]

Thanks Jarrah Jack
I will call bar crusher this week and find out as much as i can.

Moonlighter,
Thanks fior that info, so the 550C changed to be called the 530C and is now called the 575C, same hull.
I was at the sydney trailer boat show on Sat, looked at the surtees and the crushers, both very similar and now know why. How do you find yours moonlighter? What motor are you running on yours and have you added trim tabs?
Thanks again for the replys, very helpful.
Cheers
Knuckle

[Moonlighter]

Hi Knuckles!

Yes, you've got it right, 550C same hull as current 575C, just updated a few things as you'd expect over the years.

I have a Suzuki DF115 4 stroke, and it's great. I know some guys who run 90 etecs and 100 Suzuki or Yammies and they say that theirs go fine too, but when I was deciding, several people said to me that you never wish you had less horsepower so with 115 the max for the hull, that's what I went with.

Am very happy with the way the hull performs, does everything I want and behaves safely and predictably no matter which way it is running to the sea. I reckon it performs a cut or two above it's size, and several of my mates who've been offshore with me and who own larger glass boats have commented favorably on how well she performs in average sea conditions.

No, I haven't added trim tabs. Yes, because they are a pretty deep V hull at 18 degrees deadrise, they do tend to lean into the wind quite a bit. But so far I've been able to address this by moving my crew or eskyor tackle box around! Trim tabs would be "nice to have" but not a necessity, I think. If I was getting the larger 580 Surtees, would think seriously about it as moving weight around on the bigger boat isn't as easy.

Cheers

ML

[knuckle]

Moonlighter,
Thanks very much for the info mate i really appreciate it. its good to hear from someone who has got the same boat and can offer some first hand advice.
Thanks again
Knuckle

[wetryin]

Hey knuckle
I too have a 530C. Good boat. Not too big, not too small. Boat does everything it should. Its good that I can handle it by myself but still plenty of room if there is a mate or two. For this reason its the perfect size. I have a 4wd but this boat is still capable of being towed by a family sedan.
I will get around to adding tabs too but for now I have a couple of bench press weights up front under one of the cushions. Great to trailer. Performs well outside. I have since added a self latching trailer hitch for when I choose to launch and retrieve without getting wet and an electric anchor and have about 180m of rope on it so the boat is capable of pretty much everything. It rides well, perhaps a little bit wet in a rough sea with the spray that comes from the sides, but I find pull down the hardtop and this stops us up front getting wet.
Rides pretty well. Biggest wave I had gone up and over would have been maybe 4m+ and broken and I thought I would have surely gotten wet. But the boat went up and over. Fell as it should (like maybe 6m the other side of the wave). I have a bad back and mates of mine have a seafarer and I have to go to the chiropractor if I go out with them but mine is fine if driven to the conditions.
I didnt really change the boat with too many add ons at it comes with most things as standard. On a good day I go out to the canyons some 30km out. On a bad day, well I simply dont go out. And it doesnt look out of place tubing with the missus and the kids. I have a 100 yammie and get up to around 60kmh on the river which is sufficient to get me from a to b or for the kids on the tube.
And having the checkerplate floor is great to hose out after a fish; my mates all have boats with carpeted floor and they have to disinfect and scrub out.
They are a good choice of boat. The only thing that is missing is a walk thru hatch to the front but the design doesnt allow it.
Other than that I am sure you will be happy
Surtees have their chamber under the hull able to be closed so good for beach launching keeping the hull sitting higher but if you intend on ramp launching then no problems.

[Sheik]

Hi Knuckles!

Yes, you've got it right, 550C same hull as current 575C, just updated a few things as you'd expect over the years.

I have a Suzuki DF115 4 stroke, and it's great. I know some guys who run 90 etecs and 100 Suzuki or Yammies and they say that theirs go fine too, but when I was deciding, several people said to me that you never wish you had less horsepower so with 115 the max for the hull, that's what I went with.

Am very happy with the way the hull performs, does everything I want and behaves safely and predictably no matter which way it is running to the sea. I reckon it performs a cut or two above it's size, and several of my mates who've been offshore with me and who own larger glass boats have commented favorably on how well she performs in average sea conditions.

No, I haven't added trim tabs. Yes, because they are a pretty deep V hull at 18 degrees deadrise, they do tend to lean into the wind quite a bit. But so far I've been able to address this by moving my crew or eskyor tackle box around! Trim tabs would be "nice to have" but not a necessity, I think. If I was getting the larger 580 Surtees, would think seriously about it as moving weight around on the bigger boat isn't as easy.

Cheers

ML

Couldn't agree more ML, you never say "gee i wish I didn't have so much power going through this rough bit of water or over this bar". Plenty of dealers advertise to get people in but hte price they're quoing for a 5m boat is with a 20hp two stroke.

[Moonlighter]

Just to add, mine with a full tank of fuel (100l), fishing gear and all normal running gear on board, but not eskies and bait, weighs in at around 1150 kg. So definitely towable by normal cars, I tow mine with an SV6 Commodore and it does it easily.

I ordered mine with the folding roof and folding windscreen that let's me get her into the garage.

Some things you may not know about them:

They come STD with toughened glass windscreens. No pressed alloy boats and only a few plate boats in this size have this feature. Strong and safe.

Wide side decks that you will love sitting on.

Deep sides so hard to fall out! Safe for the kiddies, too, the cheese and kisses will like it.

Huge hatch in the cabin to allow access to the anchor, and it is properly sealed and mine never leaks.

The hardtop pulls down at the front and this is surprisingly effective at keeping out the weather and keeping the crew warm and dry. I was actually surprised at just how good this feature is. You can get a shade extension that is well worthwhile, again, a winner with the family.

Heaps of storage in shelves inside cabin.

Mine has LED deck and cabin lighting, very effective.

Cheers

ML





Cheers

ML

[fishing111]

ML is that weight 1150kg) a rough estimate or is it weighbridge certified? Is that boat and trailer or just the boat? Just seems a bit light on for a bmt if thats what you meant.
Cheers

[Moonlighter]

Paul

That's over a weigh bridge. BMT combined, that's the weight on the trailer wheels, would be about 70kg on the tow bar to add for GTM.

The Surtees trailer has a quite different design to Aussie trailers and it's tare weight is a good 100 odd kg lighter from memory, so that also has to be considered.

Cheers

ML

[Sheik]

The hardtop pulls down at the front and this is surprisingly effective at keeping out the weather and keeping the crew warm and dry. I was actually surprised at just how good this feature is. You can get a shade extension that is well worthwhile, again, a winner with the family.

Heaps of storage in shelves inside cabin.


Cheers

ML





Cheers

ML

mate what do you mean by the hardtop folding down at the front? Do you mean over the hatch? Or do you mean it extends over the deck?
And the shelves, are they weather proof or do you find things rolling all around the place?
regards jim

[Moonlighter]

The front of the hardtop pulls down (it is mounted on gas struts) to the top of the windscreen. So when you are the water and it rains or there is lots of wind spray around, you can pull it down and it shelters the crew. See the pic of the bar crusher in wetryin's avatar in his post earlier in this thread, compare the angle of the hardtop to my Surtees in my avatar - his top is pulled down at the front, mine is up in the normal position. (note my hardtop is a good bit taller to suit my 195cm height!)

When you garage the boat, the entire hardtop folds down backwards into the boat. You can tie it down so it doesn't move and tow it like that to reduce wind resistance, and I recently got a traveling cover made that goes over the boat from the windscreen back to the transom and covers it all up.

The shelves are inside the cuddy cabin and are quite deep and fairy wide, so are great to store life jackets, clothes, gear, maps, shade extension etc in them. I also have bunks and store things under them that do not matter if they get damp, it's not waterproof under there, but I do store some stuff in plastic boxes under there, plus boxes of SP's and the like.

Some pics follow that might help.

The first one shows the boat with the hardtop folded back into the boat and my new travel cover fitted.

The second one shows a view into the cabin and you can see the storage shelf on the port side, it is quite long and deep as you can see. There is one the same on the starboard side.

The third is the boat on the water with the hardtop up in it's normal running position.

Cheers

ML

[knuckle]

Moon lighter, wetryin and sheik.
thanks so much for the info its really appreciated, seems to tick all the right boxes, if i don t get the one im looking at there will be others, not sure if I should sell my current boat or buy the crusher now and sell mine later.
Decisions decisions.
Thank you all again.
Cheers and tight lines
KNUCKLE