2021 Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout review

The Cruiseabout name has been associated with the Quintrex brand for many decades. The original Quintrex Cruiseabout was a single 5.0-metre runabout launched in 1976 that made its debut alongside the equally legendary 5.0-metre Fish Finder centre console and Fish Master quarter-cabin.

These three craft were hugely successful through the late 1970s and into the '80s, paving the way for further pioneering Quintrex models in subsequent decades including the Freedom Sport bowriders, Bay Hunter runabouts, Hornet and Top Ender bass/bream boats, and more.

These days the Cruiseabout name is used to describe a series of Quintrex bowrider boats, a far cry from the single runabout model old-time boaters will fondly remember.

The current Quintrex Cruiseabout bowrider range stretches from 4.8 metres to 5.9 metres. Specific models include the 481, 500, 520, 540 and 590 Cruiseabout. Each is available as a modestly outfitted standard boat, or as a Pro model with a bunch of extra gear.

For this review, we sampled a standard Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout, albeit a model fitted with several individual options.

Our test boat was also presented with the maximum power 150hp Mercury Pro XS extra-longshaft four-stroke outboard engine.

Caloundra Marine on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has Quintrex Cruiseabout 590 packages starting from $67,573 with a 135hp Mercury extra-longshaft four-stroke outboard engine with hydraulic steering, Smartcraft digital engine gauges, and a dual-axle Quintrex alloy braked trailer.

Caloundra Marine's base package also includes a bimini, Lowrance Hook Reveal 5x fishfinder, an inshore safety gear kit, and 12 months boat and trailer registrations.

We noted earlier that standard Cruiseabouts don't leave the factory with a whole lot of standard gear, but you do get the U-shaped bow seating area with seat cushions and well-padded backrests, as well as a standard rear lounge and pedestal chairs at the helm.

The standard boat also has a three-piece, centre-opening acrylic windscreen; carpeted plywood floors throughout; rotomoulded plastic anchor well and storage bins; welded, 270mm wide deck coamings; cockpit side pockets; cockpit scupper water drain system; cupholders; two rod holders; transducer mounting brackets; boarding platforms and ladder.

The latest 2021 Quintrex Cruiseabouts also have a redesigned transom with an outboard engine pod, enlarged dash fascia panels to fit big-screen displays and transom maxi-brackets on either side of the boarding platforms for installing accessories such as burley buckets.

The Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout presented for this review gained a few extra items including a more powerful 150hp Mercury Pro Xs four-stroke outboard engine; a deluxe folding rear lounge; upholstered side pockets; starboard side transom door; and an electronics display upgrade to a Lowrance Elite FS7.

The extras lift the drive-away package price to a respectable $71,515.

Our test boat was fitted with several individually chosen options, but customers can also select a range of accessories grouped together in a series of option packs.

Three option bundles are available for the Quintrex Cruiseabouts.

Order the Comfort Bundle, for example, and your new Cruiseabout gains a bimini; a front tonneau cover; upgraded Maritime sports seats; the deluxe aft lounge; bow infill board and cushion; a cockpit table; and an audio system with speakers.

With the Fishing Bundle you get the burley bucket; VHF radio; transom cutting board with ski pole; and LED cockpit lights and switches.

The Captain's Bundle adds a tilt-adjust Volante Sports steering wheel to make it easier to stand and steer.

The Cruiseabout bowriders are fitted with the Quintrex Blade hull, a flared, concave bottom shape developed and refined over many years that stretch back to the Millennium hull from the 1990s.

The Quintrex Blade hull has a very sharp vee entry shape which flares out to wide, flattened chines; this combination provides a smooth, stable, dry ride.

The Quintrex Blade hull is particularly good at taming the short, sharp, choppy waters that boaters commonly experience in the myriad bays and harbours throughout Australia.

The Quintrex Blade hull beneath the 590 Cruiseabout is made using 4mm plate alloy for the hull bottom and transom, and 3mm for the topsides.

Beneath the carpeted, plywood floor there is a full-length internal keel supported by welded cross-ribs staggered at regular intervals along the length of the hull to add strength and rigidity to the pressed, stretch-formed outer hull sheets.

Quintrex's Cruiseabouts are designed as multi-purpose boats. With seating/entertaining areas in the bow and the stern, they are clearly ideal for family boating but can also be configured for fishing.

The inherent design features you need in a good fishing rig — a seaworthy hull, high topsides, a deep, wide cockpit, broad side decks and ample storage — are all present in these fine craft.

The bow seating compartment can also transform into an elevated casting platform with the addition of an optional infill board and cushion.

You can even get serious about fishing and option the Cruiseabout with a front lean seat and electric trolling motor.

In standard form, the bow lounge has two broad side seats with comfortable backrests that wrap over the top of the side coamings for extra lounging comfort.

There's a safety gear storage bin beneath each of the seats, along with an open anchor well on the bow.

Wide side storage pockets stretch aft along the length of the cockpit, while extra gear can stow in an underfloor fish/fender locker, and in compartments beneath each of the helm consoles.

The port side rotomoulded plastic co-pilot console also has a lockable glovebox, storage nook and a cupholder.

Opposite, the helm station console has an enlarged fascia for up to a 30.5cm (12-inch) multifunction display, along with engine gauges and the optional VHF marine radio.

The helm is low-set, like most bowrider boats, but I found the Cruiseabout comfortable to drive; the sports steering wheel and side-mount throttle are well positioned, and the bolstered, swivelling (and sliding) pedestal helm seats work well.

Behind the deluxe helm chairs, the carpeted cockpit flows 1.74 metres aft to the full-height transom with folding, three-quarter width bench seat and optional starboard side transom door.

There's a storage platform behind the aft seat, along with a hatch to gain access to the recessed battery/bilge compartment.

Other features include rear coaming rails and new, higher rear boarding platforms with a starboard side telescopic stainless steel ladder.

Our test boat was set up for family boating, but for anglers, there are several desirable fishing options. They include extra rod holders, a transom bait-cutting board, a port side transom live bait tank, and a burley bucket.

I expect Quintrex Cruiseabout buyers will spend most of their time boating and fishing bays, harbours and impoundments, but this boat's variable deadrise Quintrex Blade hull is offshore capable as well.

The Blade hull's forte is cutting through short, sharp wave chop, but it is equally at home traversing rolling offshore swells and taming the kind of mixed-up sea conditions found between the breakwalls of a barred inlet.

The Blade hull has been around for a while now, but Quintrex has made subtle improvements to recent models.

I believe the latest models perform slightly better in a following sea, for example, riding more easily and safely out of wave troughs. Our test boat certainly felt well balanced and sure-footed when running downhill.

Our test rig also proved stable at rest and underway, and sporty enough to carve tight figure-eight turns with security, and without engine ventilation.

The Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout is no performance ski boat, but it can certainly double up for social tow sports, especially with a big engine on the transom.

Our Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout was armed with Mercury's awesome 150hp Pro XS four-stroke outboard engine; this powerful unit delivers heaps of low-down torque for fast hole-shots and a super-quick top speed of 44.5 knots.

With so much power on tap, the Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout is good fun to drive; the hull feels nicely planted, even when racing across a choppy bay at WOT with the engine trimmed right out.

Given the high top speed of our test boat, you could easily drop back to a 135hp outboard engine to save a few dollars yet retain excellent performance.

With the big 150hp Mercury on the transom, the Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout is most economical at a speed of 18.3 knots with a fuel burn of 13.7L/h. This combination yields a maximum range on 95 per cent of the boat's 110-litre fuel capacity of 132.2nm.

Performance

Range on 95% of the 110L fuel supply at 3000rpm: 132.2nm

Family cruiser, coastal fishing rig, social towboat — the Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout is all of these things and more. It really is a wonderfully versatile craft.

This flagship Cruiseabout has the size, space, seating and seaworthiness to fish offshore waters, and cruise the bays and harbours with up to eight people on board.

With an overall length of 6.2 metres, the Quintrex 590 Cruiseabout is quite a large trailer boat, but with a dry towing weight in the 1350kg to 1550kg range, this excellent all-rounder is easy to haul about behind a mid/large size SUV or dual-cab ute.

With so much to offer family boaters and fishermen, I expect all of the new Quintrex Cruiseabout bowriders to be popular this coming summer.

Priced from: $67,573 including a Mercury 135hp extra-longshaft (25") four-stroke outboard with hydraulic steering; Smartcraft digital gauges; Quintrex tandem axle braked alloy trailer; overhead bimini with envelope; Lowrance Hook Reveal 5x fishfinder (head unit); inshore safety gear kit; 12-month boat and trailer registrations.

Price as tested: $71,515 as above but with a 150hp Mercury Pro XS four-stroke outboard engine; Lowrance Elite FS7 fishfinder/GPS electronics display upgrade; deluxe folding rear lounge; upholstered side pockets; starboard side transom door.

Supplied by: Caloundra Marine