Quintrex 440 SC Renegade with Yamaha F60hp

by Steve Morgan •

Streaker Marine sells plenty of Quintrex boats every year, and Sean Savage and his team at the dealership always put in a massive effort at the Melbourne Boat Show to display a big range of boats and provide attractive deals to get them sold.

When offered the choice of which boat they wanted included in the Boat Show feature this year, they brought the 440 Renegade Side Console (SC) with a 60hp Yamaha. It was a smart choice. The boat show is full of anglers wanting to upgrade their small boats or just aching to get off the bank.

The Renegade is a great option for both of these desires, offering a solid platform from which you can build your ideal rig.

Featuring that clean, plate-aluminium look and plenty of open deck space, the Renegade is one of Quintrex’s best sellers and it sits at a price point where it’s within reach of a lot of people. And you don’t need to upgrade the family car to tow it.

The 440 was supplied on a single axle Quintrex trailer that’s factory matched to the boat.

“Quintrex’s aluminium I-beam trailer is to trailers what four-strokes are to outboards,” said Sean Savage. “It’s hard not to buy one. They’re light, they’re easy to clean, they tow great and they’re easy to load.”

Also, they’re easy to manoeuvre around a small garage, that’s the combination of the light hull weight and the single axle iteration.

Speaking of 4-strokes, the Renegade was powered with a F60 Yamaha 4-stroke, which is the maximum allowable on this rig.

Powered by Yamaha’s F60 4-stroke outboard, this boat gets up and goes, although the conditions on the test day meant that the most comfortable and economical speed was under 4,000rpm.

Quintrex’s fold down seats are basic, yet comfortable. There are several mounting options.

Although the Renegade looks like a plate boat, the pressed strakes under the hull give away its true heritage.

Like all Yamaha 4-strokes, you barely know it’s running when it is. The next person that tries to start it when it’s already running won’t be the first.

There’s no doubt that Quintrex has lifted its trailer game in recent years. I haven’t even got wheels that flash on my car!

There’s a small baitwell and storage areas under the rear casting deck, port side.

The side console is simple and effective, and you can bracket mount virtually any electronics you like on top of it. We liked the niche for keys, wallets and phones.

Open boats are all about the space, and the Renegade has plenty of it.

That’s a moulded plastic anchor well at the bow, which is usually much quieter than a welded aluminium one.

Nearly all of the storage in the Renegade is up and under the front casting deck. It’s reasonably dry under there until it rains. After that, keep your gear in dry bags.

The half-length side pocket will keep your gear from rolling around the floor, but it won’t keep it dry.

The front casting deck will fit one angler and is around half the gunwale height.

There’s a matching side pocket on the starboard side, adjacent to the helm seat.

Check out the inbuilt step and handrail, which makes it easy to get back into the boat after a swim. Without it, it usually looks like you’re trying to mount the Yamaha.

Supplied on a Quintrex I-beam trailer, the on-road package is light and towable by virtually any vehicle with a tow bar.

At the most economical cruising speeds around 3,500rpm, this rig delivers economy of over 4km/L (figures supplied by Streaker Marine). It’s more of a challenge remembering to fill the tank than finding the cash to pay for it.

We had this hull out in some sloppy conditions and there was always a combination of speed and trim that waked it through chop that would be uncomfortable at wide open throttle.

What do we like best about open boats? It’s the 360° fishability. There’s nothing to get in the way and you can achieve an elevated lure casting position by jumping up onto the front deck.

The front deck also provides a heap of storage under it, albeit not dry. Plenty of anglers find room for an ice box under here and some gear in waterproof bags. There’s additional storage in the port and starboard side pockets and then a tiny bit more under the rear casting deck.

As tested, this rig weighed in at $31,990, however packages from Streaker Marine start from $28,000. Visit www.streakermarine.com.au for more information or to organise a test drive.

SPECIFICATIONS
Length (max) – 4.6m
Beam – 2.11m
Depth – 0.96m
Max motor Weight – 120kg
Capacity – 5 persons
Materials – 3mm aluminium
Height on trailer – 1.70m
Max hp – 60hp
Hull Weight – 370kg

PERFORMANCE
As no fuel metering gauges were available on this craft, the article quotes Streaker Marine supplied economy figures.