Cracking Quintrex

[FNQCairns]

fellas here we go again 5052/5251 "pressed " alloy =90mpa which is most pressed boats stessco/quinny/stacer etc 5083 PLATE = 250mpa which is trailcraft /seastorm/tabs etc & u dont see to many blogs re PLATE boats 1": cause they dont spit out big heaps and pay for tradesman & 2 :THEY look after there customers I know you pay for what you get BUT if you drove your commodore over the nullabor and it broke they would fix it as the MTAQ has a code of ethecs , not maritime qld they have no balls ,cant & wont do f... all BOMBIE

Thanks Bombie, if you know, what was the predominant grade used in the 70s 80s for pressed boats?. Some of those boats are still in use and have been through hell and back without drama.

cheers fnq

[moater]

Pressed boats can be built to take offshore work.

No doubt about it.The pressed method is not at fault as much as bad welding practices it seems.

The pressing is to give strength whereas the "plate" boats rely more on the thickness of the material and the extra bracing that's needed.Either boat should have decent welding and it seems that the quin mob are not up to scratch with their quality control...too busy focusing on profits perhaps??

Maybe it'll take deaths or injury and resulting lawsuits to wake up any manufacturer.

Authorities are pretty lax too...a relly of mine built his own Stabicraft and did a top job too (good as a bought one).When I asked him about having it checked by engineers etc he said no,they were more concerned with seeing the receipt for materials.This was about 10 years or so ago.

Darren

[BigE]

I know of a few savage's that have developed a crack or two as well. seems to be pretty common in most press boats at some stage.

BigE

[duncan dysart]

You can view a range of pics of the cracks and welding at http://picasaweb.google.com/slamdunc40/CracksInQuintrex570

[duncan dysart]

most of you blokes are probably right a plate or glass boat is a softer ride but iv,e got a near 30 year old quinny 4.5 lazeabout that,s still going strong

Quintrex rides great JUst cracks regularly

[duncan dysart]

Hi Bombie;

I think Duncan SHOULD still contact them.

Office of fair trade will set in motion the right way to go about mediation if nothing else.

I have used them 3 times, and all times it has ended up at small claims tribunal, and each time, the magistrate has commended me on trying to settle this myself, and using the office of fair trade.

Also, in one instance, where a removalist company had altered the amount on a hand written invoice once they had written the amount and I had signed it, they started their own procedings as they had multiple complaints. Virgin credit cards fraud department also became involved, as it was a master card invoice that they had fraudulantly changed, and in the end - the company was finded, I got my money, and they subsequently folded the company.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

I am going to look at using NZ Consumers Guarantee Act
I know in a civil proceeding I can get the salesman who told me "this boat will never crack" but I believe they should not be selling thse boats to go out to sea

[duncan dysart]

Took Floor off today for a good look and found two cracks at rear near transom I guess that is my fault as well even though the rear doesnt take a pounding and I only tow it 2 km to put it in Internally I counted 10 repaired cracks and now there is another 2 fully cracked and one starting . maim problem is they only weldabout 50mm when there is enough flat space to weld over 100mm
Also saw that two new braces that they put in for repairs have 590 written on them so suspect that after failures of 570s they made 590s with extra bracing
They dont appear to make 570s now.Does anyone know how long they did?

[duncan dysart]

Duncan,

I had a 600 Offshore from new, a 2001 model. After 3.5 years I found approx 12 broken welds, cracked ribs and bulkheads ripped away from welds. To Quintrex's credit they repaired the boat as if it were still under warranty, but I wasn't going to take a second chance and sold the boat immediately.

From my experience, they are not built to take the pounding a hull gets when running in bumpy conditions.

Good luck.

Regards,
Dave.

Repaired mine too to their credit but didnt last 5 months.They gave me a 6 month warranty which they now wont honour even tho 1 exterior crack and 2 internal
Say its my fault

[kitty_cat]

What a bunch of wankas!

[black runner]

I had a look under the floor of my 460 Stacer and not a crack anywhere, but it is interesting to note the different construction methods of the smaller pressed boats.

The bottom sheets aren't welded directly to the floor ribs but only to the keel, chines and transom. The floor ribs (mainly square hollow section with a thicker wall towards the bottom with every one gusseted with the floor support channel) are hard up against the bottom sheets separated by a rubbing strip.

It appears that the transverse sheet welds on Duncans boat have created a weakness (brittleness) in the structure of the sheet. Or is this due to the work hardening of the stretch forming process? or a combination of both. It begs the question about the boat size design limits for this type of construction and material. Looks like some stringers are needed through that area even though the strakes are supposed to do the job.

I suppose Quintrex are stuck using 5251 sheet ally (still marine grade) because they need the malleability to achieve the millenium shape.

[gofishin]

...They dont appear to make 570s now.Does anyone know how long they did?

Duncan, they are the same hull, just a name change (x 2), and now a slightly different transom. The 570's went to a 580 (in 2006) and then a 590 more recently, but all have the same 'hull length' (& 4mm bottom). Similar 'name' changes across the range. Quintrex model names used to be true 'hull length', now they include the bowsprit etc.

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate, hope you get it sorted one way or another.
cheers

[paul cooper]

Ive got a 4.6 custom built centre console quinny it did a couple of years as a lobby boat down south before i bought it, i use it regularly off coffs.i work on the principal that if you drive any thing to extremes be it a car or a boat something has to give eventually. my boat does have a crack on the gunnel but it was there when i bought it, now i take my young bloke out occassionally and he hasnt got a clue hell crash through everything and you get tired hanging on, personally myself i like to trim the boat up properly and drive to the conditions getting there 5 minutes later saves a lot of the wear and tear factor on both boat and myself so there you have it guys . MAY BE THAT NZ GUY SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A SHEEPTREX THEY SAY THERE A SOFTER RIDE LOL COOP

[GAD]

Seen a split bow on a hornet and a 6m half cab quintrex with a hull full of water due to a cracked keel ,just get in thanks to the bilge pumps .
And then after my brother has had to weld his quintrex more than a few times and seeing the poor quaility of said topender, and the over pricing of them you can keep the quinni,.
I bought my TABs with a 4stroke 115 suzy, for 3 grand less than the same size and model quintrex with a 2stroke 90 motor , and the stacer was also dearer by a bit too.
Hey all boats look good, new from the factory and maintain them and they will continue to look good and your motor will start and run well , don't and they'll look like squid refuse and nani guts and you become that bloke that spends more time getting the motor to run while you take up a lane at the ramp.[you know who you are, unfortunatly most of us do too after being stuck waiting behind you ]
But you can't maintain against poor workmanship ,if it is a cracked weld under the floor , being that most of the blokes I know have never lifted the floor to check their boat for lost sinkers or hooks or such most blokes wouldn't know there as a crack till it was to late or they had lot of water in the hull and couldn't explain it , and if it is a sealed floor how do you check it.
Some boats are made for smooth water and others can take a beating , you can make a good boat ride rough if you drive it hard or harshly or don't know how to drive it , and you can make a bad boat ride alrightish if you drive to the conditions . Getting there 5 minutes later is better than a sore back or kidneys for the day or days as you get a little older.
I agree quintrex are at the lower end of the quality scale, but there are a lot of others as well keeping them company.
It is just shame that the goverment doesn't set a standard for boats , like it does for cars , bikes , planes , prams , swing sets , tv's , people and just about everything else .

Greg

[Getout]

No doubt about it.The pressed method is not at fault as much as bad welding practices it seems.


Darren

I had one of the early Quinny flared bow CCs for years. It was a great, tough old rig but it used to split welds occasionally. Sometimes because of trailer stress (multi-roller trailer not recommended)
Re-welding was only a temporary solution. It would usually split again in the same place. The point at the bottom of the stem was most vulnerable when hammering home in a following sea. You could hear the hull oil-canning at the bottom of a wave.
Welds are the weak point in any alloy boat. The alloy gets brittle due to the heat of the welding process.
I don't think they (production pressed tinnys) are made to take an offshore hammering. If you drive them hard they will fail earlier than a platey or glassey.

[duncan dysart]

Duncan, they are the same hull, just a name change (x 2), and now a slightly different transom. The 570's went to a 580 (in 2006) and then a 590 more recently, but all have the same 'hull length' (& 4mm bottom). Similar 'name' changes across the range. Quintrex model names used to be true 'hull length', now they include the bowsprit etc.

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate, hope you get it sorted one way or another.
cheers

When they did my repairs (too late)they added two extra braces with 590 written on them which must now be standard as they had so much trouble without them