I’ve had my boat for six months and decided to leave writing this review until now so I can give you an unbiased opinion of the package. I’m delighted with the boat and motor combination, and glad I decided to talk to the guys at Hunts Marine -  their experience with Quintrex goes back a long way and the outcome has exceeded my expectations both in boat performance, service expertise and dealer satisfaction.

After owning a secondhand Stacer 399 Proline Angler for three years with a 30HP two stroke pre-mix engine, I decided to upgrade and look for a slightly larger boat with better rough water performance, more room with either an injected two stroke or four stroke engine. I grew tired of mixing the fuel and the exhaust smoke particularly when idling along downwind. There are many excellent aluminum boats manufactured in Australia, but in the end, I decided to go with a Quintrex 420 Renegade. I’m sure this boat has turned the 4.3 aluminum boat market upside down. With an unheard of 2.06 metre beam, 3mm side and bottom sheets, twin side pockets, live bait tank, tackle box holder, rear step and rail, self-draining anchor well, carpeted floor, lots of storage space under the forward casting platform and the great riding blade hull this boat is loaded with excellent features. It’s tough, stable and very dry in the rough stuff....

I am 75 years young so it was important to have the trailer set up so I could drive off and on at the boat ramp on my own. The trailer was optioned with three sets of flippers guides and a walkway. The flipper guides are fitted to the three-main trailer cross members and guide the boat accurately right down the trailer centerline. In addition, I have fitted a spare wheel just in front of the bow on a bracket so I use this as a step up to board and leave the boat thus making launching and retrieving very easy. In fact, I haven’t used the walkway so far as you don’t need to muck about and winch the boat on. The flipper guides aren’t expensive so I would recommend anyone considering this boat to order them. After a day on the water you just want to get the boat on the trailer as quickly as possible and of course not hold up others at the boat ramp.

I decided on a 50HP Evinrude E-Tec, which is the maximum HP rating for this boat. It’s an oil & fuel injected twin cylinder motor with great low-down torque and it launches the hull onto the plane very quickly. The motor gives outstanding performance and fuel economy, and there is absolutely no evidence of oil smoke like my old boat.  At 15 knots the motor consumes on average one litre every 3.5 kilometres depending on conditions and load. For me it’s usually one or two up so that’s pretty amazing for a twin cylinder 863cc two stroke. I decided on a tiller steer to leave more room for fishing and general accommodation. The motor also comes as standard with a stainless-steel propeller and has an internal 1.9 litre oil reservoir under the cover. Oil use is minimal as the engine computer varies the oil injection ratio depending on engine speed and service costs are low as there’s no oil or oil filter to be replaced and of course less moving parts.

My wife and I often go cruising so I leave the rods at home.  We pack some lunch and spend the day on the water. We live just two kilometres from the boat ramp at Melrose Park on the Parramatta River so our patch is Sydney Harbour and tributaries. A great expanse of water with terrific boating opportunities and lots to see if you just potter about.

I also optioned a bow mount plate, Minn Kota 55lb Terrova I-Pilot, extra seat position in the forward casting platform and paint with decals. The boat looks amazing and the tiller steer E-Tec comes in a lovely metallic graphite colour as opposed to the usual off white.

When buying a new boat there are many decisions to make and you really don’t know the outcome until some time later. You are unsure how it will perform, the fuel economy and so on.

I’ve had my boat for six months and decided to leave writing this review until now so I can give you an unbiased opinion of the package. I’m delighted with the boat and motor combination, and glad I decided to talk to the guys at Hunts Marine -  their experience with Quintrex goes back a long way and the outcome has exceeded my expectations both in boat performance, service expertise and dealer satisfaction.

 

Cheers & happy boating,

Milton Lazarus

March 2018

March 05, 2018 by Jon Hunt