Quintrex 580 Spirit with Verado 135 .... good or bad?

[rumy1]

Hi all

looking at getting a Quintrex 580 Spirit with a Mercury Verado 135 (supercharged). I can't find any boat reviews on this boat or details about it? It is a 2006 model and appears to be in very good condition. It comes on a dual axle trailer, transom door, GPS, sounder, kill tank but that's about all. It doesn't come with bait board, ski pole, and I would like to get a anchor winch. At $35000, it sounds good but what are your thoughts? Is the motor good and is it big enough for this boat? It has just has a service and has two brand new marine batteries in it.

[Moonlighter]

The Verados are a very nice bit of gear.....

Cheers

ML

[whiteman]

I've got the 530 Spirit with a 115 Yammie 2s. My mate sold his 570 Spirit with the same donk last year but it ran well with that size engine. The 570/580s are rated as 130 maximums from memory.

The good thing about the spirit is that it's a very dry boat. Also plenty of fishing room for its size. Jump in the equivalent length glass boat like a Haines and you feel you've lost a few feet of room somewhere. And the boat takes a pounding and for a serious fisho like me it's easy to clean and I'm not worried about a few scratches here and there. It's light so launch and retrieve single handed is a breeze (unless there is a BIG breeze!). I have a single axle trailer with upgraded tyres as this is much easier to push around the shed. The boat is very stable at anchor and you can sleep inside the cabin even though it is a little short for complete comfort for an adult.

My boat is used to fish GBR 50-80km offshore.

The down side of all Quinnies is chop. They want to go over rather than through choppy seas so you get bashed around. This is where heavier glass really comes into its own.

The only thing I know about Mercurys is they are usually heavier than equivalent Yammies or Suzukis - but I could be wrong - no expert.

[thylacene]

We had a 540 with a 115 4stroke EFI Merc. Power wise it should be fine, but if you are going to spend a lot of time travelling to your fishing spots, make sure you test drive it in some chop, they are very stable at rest but ride like a brick, often got home feeling like I was an inch shorter. We sold our 540 for $26k last year, 2006 with 220 hours on a single axle trailer.

Apart from the slapping and banging it was a great first boat, but in hindsight not the best hull for open waters. If you are young, fit and happy to stand while travelling they are a good platform.

We went glass this time round with a 21 dead rise, and I reckon it is 10 knots quicker for the same comfort level in anything except glassed out conditions, but glass vs alloy is an argument that has been done to death.