Quintrex 430 Fishabout Pro boat review

Sheree Marris: Hi. I'm Sheree Marris from Club Marine TV. We're here to try out this fabulous new package from Quintrex. And it's the 430 Fishabout Pro. So we're here with Baxter, who's the marketing specialist of Quintrex. So tell us a bit about it. So it's a compact little boat. What are some of the features?

Baxter: Well, some of the features that you can get in on this boat to take it from what it is, what you see it here today is with a ski pole, if you want to go tow the kids around. You can add more fishing accessories. It already comes standard with two fishing rod holders, but you can also get larger Sounders. And so, it really just depends on what what you're after in the day.

Sheree Marris: So here's your target market. Is it a family? Is it a fisher person? All of all of the above?

Baxter: It can be both. It can be a couple that's that its heir first boat, it can be a family who's wanting to go and to biscuit around, or it can be a fisho that wants to go and charge after any flatties or snapper.

Sheree Marris: So that's a really good, entry level boat for people kind of just starting out that kind of offers you lots of different options. And the great thing I love about it is that it kind of looks small, but it's actually quite roomy. So you can actually fit five people on here.

Baxter: Yeah, you can fit five people. As you can see where we're sitting, we've got the bench seat in the back alley in our seats. It's very comfortable to sit at the end of the day as the sun's going down and lots of places to put gear, like snorkeling gear even.

Sheree Marris: Excellent. And this moves too, so you can actually, this seat comes out and it can move forward.

Baxter: Yeah, moves forward. So say if you need to keep a closer hand on those little ones, it's easier for the parents to keep track of their little children.

Sheree Marris: So what's the price point, the entry point for the base model?

Baxter: Well, there's lots of different ways you can slice and dice this boat and different options you can put on it. But at the very beginning you're looking at early twenties.

Sheree Marris: And so with that early twenties, so you get the motor and you get the boat and you get the trailer. Is that right?

Baxter: Yeah. Yep. That's what that's what Quintrex specialises in, is boat motor trailer packages. So you can pick it up from the dealership and go straight down to the boat ramp.

Sheree Marris: All right, Baxter. So I've got one more question. It's a bit quirky. Tell us a bit about this kind of paint. Looks like paint has been splashed all around it. And I just want to grab a cloth and I want to clean it. What's the rationale behind that?

Baxter: So what we're doing this is we call it our fleck and it's to reduce the glare. And on a really, really sunny day like today, it's so that you can actually easily see everything you're doing in the boat, whether that even be flicking lures or whatnot.

Sheree Marris: That means your eyes aren't going to burn and catch fire and explode in your head.

Baxter: Exactly.

Sheree Marris: So it's a really sunny day today. And one of the other features that I love about this boat is that you have added sun protection.

Baxter: Yeah. So coming standard with this boat, you do have a Bimini and envelope, and so that just makes it so you can go and stay out in the Australian sun for more hours in the day.

Sheree Marris: Which means more time on the water.

Baxter: More time on the water. Exactly.

Sheree Marris: Excellent. For families in particular, there are some great features like the relocatable rear seat, boarding ladder, and easy access to the anchor. The variable dead rise hull and 2.1 meter beam means you can have multiple people on the same side wrestling fish and you don't have to worry about the boat leaning too much. 

So I didn't have any luck fishing, so Baxter and I are going to take the Fishabout Pro and put it through its paces. The Fishabout Pro we're on today features the Evinrude E-Tec direct injection two stroke. Now this gives you plenty of torque, while still being easy on the emissions. I also noticed the boat was extremely dry and that's thanks to the flared bow and Quintrex’s signature blade hull with its fine entry that cuts through the chop effortlessly.

Even a beginner would feel really comfortable and confident behind the wheel of a Fishabout Pro. And that's thanks to its hydraulic steering, it's smooth throttle and its excellent all round visibility. So I've had an amazing day on the water testing the Fishabout Pro. So as an entry level boat, but it's pretty simple, it's pretty basic, but if you're just starting out, it's absolutely perfect.

This is Sheree Marris for Club Marine TV. Having fun in the sun.