Quintrex 530 Legend Centre Console

Looking for a small, easily-handled boat to fish large estuaries and inshore coastal waters? Take a look at Quintrex's 530 Legend centre console - a versatile, modestly-appointed rig designed to get you onto the water at the right price. By that I mean no bells and whistles; after all, it's those accessories that get bolted onto the coamings and console that tend to push the purchase price beyond the reach of your everyday budget-conscious angler.

As more money comes in, there is ample room for those necessary extras on this rig. The console on the test boat was bare, but we've included a mock-up image of what it might look like set up with gauges (pictured opposite right).

When you get around to setting up this console, make sure you give priority to the sounder/GPS, which should be viewable at all times. Other less-necessary gauges can just fit around it. Why not flush-mount it centrally behind the wheel? This is one of the true benefits of buying a base boat - you can make it fit you like a glove!

SAFETY & ENGINEERING
The console on this rig collapses forward for easy storage and to reduce windage (and improve fuel economy) when towing the boat on the road.

The sidepockets of the Legend are slightly shorter than you might expect on a boat of this size, which is because much of the enclosed cockpit walls are given over to flotation. Extra-wide 300mm gunwales and high coamings allow the good builders at Quintrex to pack in the foam, allowing the boat to float upright should it become swamped.

There is a small hatch in the raised foredeck that grants access to the bilge and a larger one aft that could swallow a plastic tub of safety gear, a small Esky or spare anchors and rope. Both of these areas could be lined with a marine ply floor to keep your gear away from any water that's not sucked up by the automatic bilge pump.

The 530 Legend displays a level of stability that typifies Quintrex's Millennium Hull. At rest, the lipped chines grip the water to prevent the hull moving about too much. On the plane, spray is deflected down and to the sides by this aggressive swage to keep occupants dry. 

INSIDE OUTSIDE
Those carpeted cockpit liners mentioned earlier extend to floor level, and foot-under access is provided for the length of the sidepockets. This is adjacent to the console, which provides a good backrest if fishing in seas side-on.

The foot-under access is good in the aft corners, making it easy to fish out of the transom quarters - but access does suffer a bit directly over the transom because of the engine well. The large well does allow the engine to be tilted up all the way, though, so it's a fair compromise.

Quintrex's buoyancy-enhanced Maxi-Transom allows plenty of freeboard, even when there are a couple of anglers fishing over the back, and the design helps with lift when heavier four-strokes are bolted on.

A low tray holds the engine-oil bottle, battery, fuel filter and isolation switch, and all appear to be well engineered and easily accessible for service.

Lugs in the corners are standard, and a full-width bench seat is optional should the family or friends be along for the ride.

The helm and passenger seat come in the form of an Igloo icebox sitting snug in a rotomould base. An icebox like this allows you to sit down and fish comfortably in any direction, while doubling - obviously enough - as cold storage.

PERFORMANCE & HANDLING
The 5.3m demo hull was powered by a 90hp Johnson two-stroke, which seemed to be a good match. With no instrumentation or handheld GPS, I estimated top speed to be about 60kmh, and holeshot was very good with two aboard. With hydraulic steering fitted - hooray! - it was one-finger control once the engine was trimmed correctly.

Handling was crisp with those big chines stopping the hull from rolling into corners too much. When you've got such a stable hull, you have to trade off some ride comfort, but the Quintrex 530 Legend delivered an acceptably smooth passage out through the heads during our test.

Being able to stand when crossing bars is a big advantage, while the open centre-console arrangement offers flexibility once you're out on the reef with the snapper lines down.

Quintrex is gradually lifting the level of appointments on its boats without adding too much to the bottom line. A canvas bimini and transom boarding ladder come standard on this rig, but they were not fitted on the demo boat.

You may be contemplating upgrading your current rig or perhaps are a keen first-boat buyer. Either way, Quintrex's 530 Legend deserves a place on your shortlist. 

This rig gets ticks in most of the vital boxes - design, layout, build quality and performance - and if you prefer a basic boat to get started, and are prepared to option it up as money and time allow, then this boat could suit you down to the ground.

A process of refinement Quintrex's research and development team has tweaked its Millennium Hull design for the 2004 summer boating season. The biggest change concerns making boats capable of floating upright in the unlikely event of being swamped or capsized.

The company did this by enclosing the cockpit walls with carpeted marine ply under the extruded gunwales and filling the void with high-density foam. According to Quintrex, this complements the flotation found elsewhere in the boat and gives it "full positive flotation".

The 530 Legend also features the revised Maxi-Transom II, with a newly curved trailing edge. The running surfaces of the hull are extended to the rear edge of the boarding platforms to generate more lift, and are foam filled for the buoyancy needed to float four-stroke engines.

Retained on the Millennium Hull is its flared bow, extra-wide gunwales, curved deadrise in the bow's planing surfaces to cut through chop, prominent chines for stability and extra-wide gunwales for strength.

HIGHS

LOWS