Quintrex 650 Offshore

[Boxhead]

I'm looking at buying a Quintrex 650 offshore and have been told that with the V flare Millennium Hull they ride like a glass boat.... Does anyone have one and if so are they a good tub?

Ta...

[Lucky_Phill]

Only a Glass boat will ride like a Glass boat.

Having said that, the 650 with flared bow and millenium hull have had good reports. But, let's not forget that the weight of this unit is quite a fair bit lighter than a glass boat. The weight is what gives the glass boat the smoothness, along with the deadrise and " rounded ' entry.

Tinnies have a more " sharp " entry, and therefore have different characteristics than a glass boat.

What you have to consider is Budget, Where you want to fish and the towing capacity of your vehicle. Before considering the purchase, do the homework, some of which is being done here.

At the end of the day, a tinnie is a tinnie. Definatley go for a test ride/ drive in both types of rigs.

Phill

[Kerry]

Another question you need to ask is why does all these larger Q hulls almost come standard with tabs ???

Cheers, Kerry.

[snappa]

STAY AWAY...#$%@#&.. :-X

water test a glass....

[Boxhead]

Thanks lads, and don't worry, I'll be doing a shitload of research before I fork 50 to 60 grand on a tinnie and will definately take for a test drive, although the topic of a test drive did not go down to well with one of the dealers I visited...... The cheque won't have his name on it.... Ta....

[megafish71]

Two words that never should be used together, Quintrex & Offshore. Pressed tin boats will never be a true offshore boat & should never be compared to glass boats.

Ron

[devocean]

I agree with Ron on this issue and thats all I am saying

[whiteman]

So what is a "true offshore boat"? The Titanic?

My 5.3m Quinnie sees plenty of offshore work. At least 100 hours in Sydney out from Broken Bay and now it's doing its time in the slop they call the Coral Sea. Very dry, very safe.

I'd love to have a 6.5m glass boat for a smoother, quieter ride except for a couple of minor issues:

1. purchase price
2. fuel consumption
3. coral beaches
4. Needs 2 to launch and retrieve
5. Towing weight
6. Poor resale compared to tin

[billfisher]

I think the disadvantages of fiberglass are rather overated. They are quite tough and anyway any dings or gourges can easily fixed with a tub of resin and some flowcoate or polyurethane paint. Also the drop in resale value can be used to your advantage in that you can get a second hand rig for a good price. A lot of them are pricey new because they are optioned up (eg Seafarer, Haines Signature). There are cheaper makes around that provide a sparser package similar to your average tinnie, eg Allison.
The difference in handling at sea compared to a pressed tinnie is quite incredible when the going gets tough. Even a good 5.5m fiberglass boat is an awesome offshore rig and is easily handled by a 6 cylinder car.
I have heard plenty of stories about pressed tinnies cracking after prolonged offshore use with heavy loads, and you don't see many (if any) professional fisherman using this sort of boat. I remember back in the 70s a couple of well known Sydney amatuer fisherman were lost at sea when coming home from the Peak (6 nm offshore) in their 5m Quintrex Cruiseabout. The boat was never found, but possibly hull failure was the cause.

[dfox]

I was waiting on ron to reply to this one, i believe he once owned a large quinnie ;)
Wasnt very impressed from memory...foxy

[billfisher]

Boxhead,
Have you looked at the Polycraft 6m. It is close to a pressed tinnie in price and they are making some big boasts about ride softness. They are made from polyethlene with a double hull. The boat will meet survey requirements when the space between the hulls is foam filled.

[Boxhead]

Billfisher,

I will check out the polycraft... Ta... But it seems that there are pros and cons for glass or aluminium. I have crawled all over the 650 and if you are out in conditions that this baby can't handle then quite possibly you should not be out, they come complete with positive floatation which means they can fill completely with water and will not capsize (thats the theory..). Mmmmm, maybe I should have asked: What's better, a Ford or a Holden......... We all know the answer to that one-Holden ;D

[ANYFISH]

gday all
my brother and i are both looking at getting a bigger quintrex tinney for some ofshore work (my 4.55m model looks a bit out of place 15k out ;D ;D).

don't just confuse us even more. give us some comparisons or past experiances.

megafish71, can you compare the 2 hulls?
what boat do you own now and what do and don't you like about the quintrex ally to the fiberglass? can you give the pros and cons

devocean, what can you compare the quintrex ally to your current fiberglass boat?

kerry, does your boat have trim tabs and do they give it any advantage over a boat that doesn't?

thanks, any info will help us make a decision on which boat to get.
cheers anyfish

[basserman]

well i agree that glass eats tin for breakfast!
and at $50 000 for a mass produced pressed alloy boat you would be much better off looking at the allison :-X no bugger it don't look at the allison i don't want them to raise their prices before i get one
as for my at the moment i have a 5.3 southwind (glass) great ride
and a 385 quinny brought brand new but had to get some weadling done as they forgot to do a couple of inches :-/
i too have seen and heard of pressed alloy boats cracking seam wealds while punch though seas :o
if you was going to go for a alloy boat check some of the proper plate ones out like AMM, custom craft, or even to a less extent trailercraft ;)

[Needmorerum]

Boxhead/Anyfish, I'll give you my views, and they are from experience by test drives.
I was in the market for an outside boat, I spent about 4-5 months looking around and test driving. I would test drive a couple on one day, then the best of them I would test again with another boat on a different day. This way I got to have a couple of runs in the better of the day, and compare apples to apples as far as water condition is concerned.
My pick of choice for Ally was the Quinnie. One thing I regret, is not going down the Plate Alloy road. My pick of the bunch out of Glass, was the Cruise Craft.
I tested just about every brand of boat made. I even took an older Carter Randell 45 for a run to see what it was like.
I too was undecided as to which way to go, Glass or Alloy. The only downfall I could come up with for the Glass was not wanting to pull it up onto a ramp, this really pushed me towards the Alloy as I mainly fish with my two daughters, and at 8 & 6, they aren't to helpfull at the ramp.
I ended up having the Quinnie Offshore and the Cruise Craft Explorer side by side at the Marina here in Gladstone for testing. Both dealers weren't to impressed on dual testing, but that's tough. Testing conditions were 20-25 knots in the harbour, only time I have ever thanked having sh!tty weather.
OK, to the verdict:
The Quinnie, I found it rode well, yes, as well as some of the entry level Glass boats. It was noisy, it had the definate Alloy thump to it. It was very stable, and dry. It turned hard at speed well, and didn't pitch in to much, like some of the glass boats did. Overall, I was impressed with how a 'Tinny' could handle. The layout was impressive, the build quality and finish was a bit to be desired, but it's an Alloy fishing boat, you can't expect to much.
The Cruise Craft, I learnt why some people call them Bruise Crafts, if not trimmed correctly, you can find all the 'rocks' in the chop, but I found if you trimmed it under then it gets alot smoother. It was also able to stay on the plane at alot lower speeds, this also helped in the rough stuff. The build quality and finish is tops. The ride difference between the Glass and the Alloy is what sold it for me. I can put up with the ramp downfalls to have the better ride outside. With me taking the family out alot of the time was one reason too. If it turns awful while out, I felt it would feel a bit more secure coming home. As for the ramp issues, our local Cruise Craft dealer can fit a keel gaurd for around 300 bucks. I think this would be well worth it, I just gotta keep the boat out of the water long enough to have it fitted.

To sum it up, it's your choice, and your money. I made my choice and have no regrets whatsoever. I now believe that I made the right choice for a boat that suits my needs for what I want to do with it. This is all that matters.
Take others advice, and their remarks, whether good or bad, sift the sh!t, and make your own decision. Take long test drives, I had each boat in the water for nearly 2 hours of actual running time, a 5 minute run does nothing for a test drive. As both boats were in the water when I arrived, I had to get the Quinnie dealer to take it out of the water and put more fuel in, his attitude on the day wasn't really flash either. But at this stage, my care factor wasn't on his side.

Hope this helps,
Corry

[mackmauler]

Stuff the quintrex these are the go!

otherwise foxys cat ;D

[searaider]

MMMMMMMMM ,
Its a tough call when looking into a new boat Ally or Fiberglass . I had a Quintrex 5.75 Searaider and was sick of getting bashed when trying to get offshore . I was very close to upgrading to a new 6 meter Quintrex Cudy Cab , but ended up getting a new fiberglass 195 6 Meter Allison Angler , couldn't be happier with the ride & total package .( Completly different do drive than my old tinny , In the slop get the nose down a bit & enough speed on to get the weight of the hull to assist in cutting through the slop ) .

I must admitt I have already learnt how to repair chips in the gelcoat from touching rocks or the ramp , you dont have these problems with a tinny .

One other thing that I have noticed , there always seems to be pleanty of reasonably new 2nd hand 6mtr + Quintrex's for
sale . But very few Glass boats of the same age of any brand for sale . :-/

I hope you end up happy which ever way you go .

Peter
Searaider 2

[Boxhead]

Thanks for all the feedback Pete, Corry and everybody. Pete, did ya old quinne have the Millennium Hull? I will be looking at a few glass boats but the problem with where I put in is it is a bit rough (Rocky and Sandy and shallow). I put in at Currarong Beach ramp on the south coast..... Thanks again...

Nath...

[searaider]

Hi again Nath ( Boxhead ) ,
My Quinni was one of the earlier ones , plane hull style & half pod on the back .This was also before the maxi pods came out . The new 650 is a heap bigger boat & with the Millenium hull should have a heap better ride . Some of the previous articles that I have read said the the new Millenium hulls were bridging the gap of fiberglass but still had a way to go .( Sorry I can't remember where I read it ) ?

Regards
Peter
Searaider 2

[megafish71]

Hey Boxhead,
When I have a chance I'll PM you with all the probs that I had with the Quintrex I had. FYI it was a late model I with the millennium hull and so long as my ass faces the ground I'll never own another, not even a little one for up the creeks. As I said I'll PM with some info and you can make your own mind up from there.

Cheers Ron

[rumy1]

I owned a 2008 Haines Signature with a Suzuki 140 on the rear, bought it brand new. I had nothing but trouble with the boat, lots of warranty work so warranty claims are not only limited to aluminium boats. The motor was sweet as though. I sold the Haines after 18 months due to family reasons but I was never happy with it. A few years later I have bought a secondhand 2006 5.8m Quintrex Spirit with a 135 honda, although I haven't taken it out much I reckon it's a better ride than the Haines. I am very happy with it to date and am very surprised by the ride quality. I think the ride of the boat comes down to the experience of the skipper in alot of cases. All big boat builders will have some pissed off customers but I would think that companies like Haines, Cruisecraft, Quintrex do have lots of very happy customers that say theirs is the best. I know I don't worry anymore when I am coming into the boat ramp, it's hard to look after the bottom of a fibreglass boat when you have a young family, Aluminium eliviates this worry and stress. If you own a boat, any boat, then that means you are a winner especially if the time in the boat is shared with the family.

[ozynorts]

Hey Boxhead, I am in the same situation as you although in a lower budget. As everyone here says, research, research, research. I wasn't even looking at glass and I now have 3 glass boats in my short list. As for Ally boats I have been around in circles and with all the info I have gotten plate seems to be the way to go. The downside is cost. There are some plate boats in your price bracket that would be worth looking at IMO. Formosa is one.
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=7968748
Considering you are already looking at Telwater (Quintrex) have you checked out the Yellowfins?
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=12237615
Hope you find the right boat and have fun.

[johncar]

There is a few catagories of ride and performance to consider too. Had experience with most styles of boats and owned a Quinnie 560 legend, pre millenium hull. Went everywhere in that boat, many days and some nights offshore. It never wrong footed and so long as I drove to the conditions ride was fine as well. It had a 4mm pressed bottom and 2mm pressed sides from memory and felt nice and solid underfoot and fairly quiet on the water for a tinnie.
I have always been concerned about the Millenium Hull off shore as it just looks too sharp for my liking and I would be concerned about it's tendency to dig in at the bow and possibly broach. I would certainly want to try one out in some steep swells in a following sea before getting too excited. No doubt it would be fine on some bay chop etc.

So I could very well be wrong, it's just been a thought ever since they released it.

There are other options and some great Ally boats out there, my Fisher seems to have all the advantages of glass boat ride with ruggedness of metal, it is possibly heavier than some glass boats of it's size. I have just ordered an Origin Axis 5.0m CC for quick runs out around the Cape too. These are heavier tinnies and yes gone is the weight advantage for towing etc but they are more forgiving around the ramps etc. and another option.