Quintrex Renegade 420 Offshore Review

[Mickywilly74]

When I was looking for my boat I was looking for a decent review on these boats, especially offshore capability, and couldn't find the information I wanted so I thought I would do one to help others who may consider buying one.

I would have loved a larger boat at first as I was restricted by budget and storage and also was concerned at the offshore capability as this is the fishing I loved. One thing I love is that the renegade fits in most garages. Also In my opinion is a very capable offshore boat in the right conditions.

I have had mine 6 months now and have used it most weekends. The majority of my fishing (maybe 75% or more) has been offshore. In saying that the furtherest out I have ventured was about 13km (no need to go further as I get most of my fish in close anyway).

Now just on a side topic of fishing offshore for the next two paragraphs, I have read post of other boaties saying its irresponsible to go outside in smaller boats and stories of towing a boat back and somehow linked that to it being small. Earlier this year I went out chasing Mackeral from Mooloolaba in my Renegade and saw about 7 boats being towed back in by coast guard or other boaties and not one was worth under 100 grand and not one had a donk under 150hp and all looked relatively new. That would be like me saying I'm safer in my renegade which just isn't the case. My point is outboards are mechanical and subject to break down like any other piece of equipment.

In relation to the above my top 4 things that I think anyone who ventures off shore should do but especially if considering in your renegade are;
1. wear your lifejackets not have them stowed. Look what happened at Caloundra the other night. Boat that sank did most things right but were not wearing life jackets. If you read the story dad and mate took turns holding 7 yo son out of the water. All I can think is they sank too fast to reach life jackets. In NSW it is compulsory I believe and should be in QLD also. I have the pull chord ones that inflate so I don't even notice they are on and I make everyone wear them.
2. Join the coastguard $75 in Qld and covered by all coastguards in the state. Once joined you can log all your trips on the coastguard trip watch website. Well and truly worth the money.
3. Have all the safety equipment. Two things I would point out is your EPIRB and radio. EPIRB - all I can say is pay the extra for the GPS model. The others I think have a 1km radius. Have you ever tried to find something on the water in the dark when you didn't know the exact location. For smaller boats I carry a handheld UHF radio as I don't go out that far and to be honest I've never lost phone reception
4. Be anal about checking the weather. I use seabreeze, willyweather and Meteye (BOM forecast) and check up to launching the boat. And if you start heading out and things are completely different from predicted don't be a hero and feel obliged to keep going, just turn around and go home.

Anyway back to review

I went the tiller steer because I wanted the extra room. I packaged mine with a 50hp Evinrude Etec. I have mentioned this in my other post and absolutely love it. My advice on your package is go maximum HP. If you can't afford it put off buying and save. Many dealers package with a smaller outboard to make them more affordable and they'll tell you they go well. And they are probably not lying if tested on flat water in a river with no gear at all. But add your fishing gear, extra fuel and a mate or two and the results are different. Also particular brands perform better than others, watch this as in my opinion seemed the fairest comparison I could find . When you watch I will say I have nothing against Yamaha motors and would buy one myself on a larger boat but all the research I conducted made me believed they are under gunned in smaller models but thats just my opinion.

Stability is exceptional. At times we have accidentally ended up on one side of the boat landing fish or whatever and I hardly feel much rock at all. also handles extremely well offshore. I was off mooloolaba in 1.8m swell, above my accepted limit, but I wasn't going far and not once felt unsafe. In saying that for this that want to venture far and if it really gets up it does get bloody uncomfortable bashing through it. I find the room inside the boat always surprises me as they are so wide beamed and I have no problems with missus, 2 kids and gear with plenty of storage room.

On the tiller steer I find at slower speeds it can be a pig and takes effort to keep it steady. This may be how the outboard is setup and I'll have to get this checked or it may just be how tiller steers are (first tiller steer I have had) but once I am up and going and trim the motor it is effortless to drive.

I have read a number of other post where people have commented on the transom and well at the back and how dangerous looked for going offshore. Let me just say I have never taken water over the back and I have been out in some slop. Sorry I lie, I should say the only time water comes over the back is when i'm flying along and just stop and the wave catches up and goes into the well. I have learnt to just slow down more gradually and no dramas. Usually when I get back to ramp and take the bung out I find no more than half a cup of water in boat if that. In fact the only time I have ever had enough water to allow the bilge pump to work was when I had a bait fish get stuck on the outflow pipe in the live bait well and it must have been over flowing for ages before I noticed it. Just to finish on this the transom is 21". I was told that most of the older boats people use to take offshore had 15" transom so they are not really that low.

As for those considering bar crossings, any open boat can be dangerous crossing a bar as it only takes one freak wave or one mistake for an open boat to be in trouble. I lived at Noosa for years and saw plenty of tinnies head out no dramas at all but I also saw many end up floating upside down and rescued for exactly the above reason. I have crossed bars for 30years in larger boats but I am cautious now especially if I'm taking missus and kids out and prefer to launch from Mooloolaba. If I'm going up north it doubles my distance (30km to Sunshine) but I don't really care about that as I only use about 25l of fuel in my boat to get there, troll, search around and fish all day and drive home. Rather use extra fuel than risk sinking the boat and safety comes first with the family onboard but just thats just me and I'm not saying it wouldn't be capable. But with that refer back to my earlier comment and go max capacity outboard.

Look to finish all I can say is I have been pleasantly surprised at the capability off the renegade which I find roomy and bats well above its weight for a 4.2m boat. I have no hesitation heading offshore at all and find it very capable in the right conditions but know your experience level and your boats capability before trying.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[Andy56]

I would add a couple more things.
If this boat swamps, it wont turn over and will still hold you within without sinking. Twice i managed to fill it with water with no symptoms till i tried to move on. yes i recon its a very stable platform. Would i go off shore with it? not sure i am that confident yet. I have been out in PPB worst and been the only fool out there, lol. I have never felt unsafe, sure its not as comfy when the weather turns, but more than adequate to get home.
Make sure you get the " drive on trailer", not the poverty box that "needs" some work.
You need to wear the life jacket at all times in victoria and I think its a good policy for this boat.

[Mickywilly74]

I would add a couple more things.
If this boat swamps, it wont turn over and will still hold you within without sinking. Twice i managed to fill it with water with no symptoms till i tried to move on. yes i recon its a very stable platform. Would i go off shore with it? not sure i am that confident yet. I have been out in PPB worst and been the only fool out there, lol. I have never felt unsafe, sure its not as comfy when the weather turns, but more than adequate to get home.
Make sure you get the " drive on trailer", not the poverty box that "needs" some work.
You need to wear the life jacket at all times in victoria and I think its a good policy for this boat.

Thanks mate. I don't think I'll swamp mine to test your threory but good to know

[stevej]

they dont have under gunnel flotation its under the floor and off cuts up in the nose
maybe in flat conditions it wont but any swell it will go turtle

boats are designed to work with max hp anything under that there are compromises, if they had of put the 50hp variants on the hulls it would be different again
the fact the etec could pull away shows that props had a effect as they all have the same 6000 rpm limiter and you can prop a engine to suit its torque characteristics.

[gazza2006au]

You have rocks in your head if u go by Willy Weather's forecast... me and mates have been caught out so many times we never ever use that web site again

we always go by BOM web site

[Mickywilly74]

You have rocks in your head if u go by Willy Weather's forecast... me and mates have been caught out so many times we never ever use that web site again

we always go by BOM web site

Personally I use Willyweather for tides and moon phase data for the specific area certainly not wind, I find seabreeze is usually pretty good for swell height and direction and Meteye I get my wind data. I also don't understand how willyweather and seabreeze differ from Meteye when they all get much of their data from BOM (with some of their own modelling). Anyway I agree and what I meant and was trying to emphasise for safety was don't just rely on one, make sure you confirm it with the others especially BOM

[stevej]

They are certainly a nice all rounder.
If I could go back 18 months I prob would have gone a 460 and a 70

Just a touch longer for open water

[catshark]

thanks for the review, they seem a popular boat and do you have thoughts on bilge setups float switchs considering it will be a coastal boat more so.

[Mickywilly74]

thanks for the review, they seem a popular boat and do you have thoughts on bilge setups float switchs considering it will be a coastal boat more so.

Yeah the popularity always means more negative reviews simply because more of them out there but I have no complaints. As for the float switch I did consider one after the live well incident but I didn't bother and really I solved the issue by just being more vigilant. Not saying they are not a good idea though.

[scottar]

Yeah the popularity always means more negative reviews simply because more of them out there but I have no complaints. As for the float switch I did consider one after the live well incident but I didn't bother and really I solved the issue by just being more vigilant. Not saying they are not a good idea though.

For years I ran my last tin rig with just a manual pump. The big issue is that most tinnies with reasonable horsepower won't necessarily show symptoms of having water in the bilge so much while under power. If you slow down without noticing though, the extra weight can make a huge difference to the amount of water that may come over the transom - only making the problem worse.

[Giveitacrack]

I have been in a few 420 Renegades in average Moreton Bay weather and whilst they ride pretty well for there size I have been in plenty of other similar size tinnies that have more freeboard or higher sides making them feel more safe in rougher seas particularly in a side running swell.I think if Quintrex increased it by 100-150mm they would have a hell of a tinny.Looking at a 460 with a 70-75 or a 490 with a 90 myself.

Crack

[Noelm]

Did you have water come over the sides? my guess is the answer is no, higher sides come with negative issues too, catch the wind more, cost more to build, not always the right height to lean against, simply making a boat "deeper" does not necessarily increase its safety.

[scottar]

Did you have water come over the sides? my guess is the answer is no, higher sides come with negative issues too, catch the wind more, cost more to build, not always the right height to lean against, simply making a boat "deeper" does not necessarily increase its safety.

Yes. Big Moreton Bay chop caused by wind against tide. I was traveling straight into it in a 4.5 metre Savage centre cconsole rig watching what was coming at me, not what was behind me. Unbeknown to me water was rolling into the corners in a small amount as I crested each wave. I came down heavy off one and felt a splash up the back of my legs. I had water to floor level. Pump switched on without slowing all was good. If I had a float switch it never would have happened to start with.

[stevej]

Can fit a warning buzzer to the float setup to let you know it’s running

Manual pump right at lowest point
Auto pump with float slightly higher sonit doesn’t trigger every time a little bit of bilge slop hits it

[gazza2006au]

Personally I use Willyweather for tides and moon phase data for the specific area certainly not wind, I find seabreeze is usually pretty good for swell height and direction and Meteye I get my wind data. I also don't understand how willyweather and seabreeze differ from Meteye when they all get much of their data from BOM (with some of their own modelling). Anyway I agree and what I meant and was trying to emphasise for safety was don't just rely on one, make sure you confirm it with the others especially BOM

Hey Micky we have been out one time going by willy Weather said it was sunny the whole day was overcast and raining lol never forget that