Geoff Middleton•8 Apr 2016

REVIEW

Quintrex Yellowfin 5800 Hard Top: Fishing Boat Review

Name: Quintrex Yellowfin 5800 Hard Top: Fishing Boat Review
Brand: Yellowfin

The smallest in the new Yellowfin range, the 5800 packs a mighty punch for its size

Released in February as part of the Quintrex range, the Yellowfins are plate boats designed specifically for offshore fishing. We had perfect weather for testing the voracity of their claims on a blustery day out of Mooloolaba on Queensland’s ‘Sunshine’ Coast.

OVERVIEW

- A whole new range

The relaunch of the Yellowfin range earlier this year brought to the fishing market eight new boats. The range consists of four new hulls, the 5800, 6200, 6700 and the 7400 all of which are available as either hard tops or soft tops.

The boats are designed and engineered to take on the inshore and offshore elements with the 6200, 6700 and 7400 featuring 6mm bottom sheets and 4mm side sheets. The 5800 versions have 5mm bottoms and 4mm top sheets, while all have 5mm transoms.

The boats also come with a host of standard accessories for the keen angler and are available in ready-to-fish boat, motor and trailer packages.

For this test, we chose the smallest of the bunch in the form of a 5800 Hard Top. This was powered by an upgraded 150hp Evinrude E-TEC outboard.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

- A great starting price with options that you can tailor to your needs

The Yellowfin 5800 comes standard with a 115hp Evinrude E-TEC for $57,636. For that you get the boat, motor and trailer with registrations, safety equipment (offshore) and fit-up costs.

However, the list of standard fishing accessories is impressive. Try these for starters: deck wash, live-bait tank, kill tank, berley bucket kit, transom cutting board, twin battery box and isolator switch, windscreen wiper and washer, 12-volt outlet, VHF radio and aerial, 16 rod holders (I think), drink holders, bow sprit and more.

Obviously there is an extensive options list, but if you want to go fishing, you pretty much can do that in the standard Yellowfin. I’d probably throw in an electric anchor winch, some extra lights, and decent stereo, and that would about do it.

HULL AND ENGINEERING

- Tough build for offshore work

As we mentioned in our news story following the launch of the new Yellowfins, the new boats feature different construction from previous Yellowfins with the beefed-up bottom and side sheets.

A new hull design including a variable deadrise to 19 degrees at the transom and more freeboard allows the boats to tackle tougher offshore conditions, as we were to soon find out.

Construction-wise, the new boats feature a fully welded checker-plate floor with box-section floor frame offering extra stiffness and strength.

The so-called Marine Core construction ensures that strength really does come from within, with a sub-frame structure of longitudinal and lateral ribs made of 6mm vertical stringers and 5mm horizontal ribs.

The self-draining floor features a non-return scupper system whereby a rear catchment area guides water out to a lower chamber to drain out through the scuppers so you don’t need to rely so much on a bilge pump.

The newly-designed transom extends the waterline length giving more lift and offering more stability and buoyancy. The new transom also allows for larger outboards in both power and weight.

The range has basic flotation using higher-density EPE foam which is fuel and oil resistant.

INTERIOR LAYOUT

- Hardtop protection, cabin comforts and a big cockpit

Entry into the boat is easy via the transom door from the duckboard which also features a standard ladder. The cockpit is big for a boat this size and the floor is uncluttered and offers room for your toes under the side storage trays.

All the Yellowfins have a beam of 2.4 metres and they bring the beam aft giving a wide and useful cockpit. The freeboard is fairly high making it a safe cockpit for fish fighting offshore.

The helm is great thanks to sturdy Quintrex pedestal seats which offer comfort as well as lateral support. The fascia is big enough to house the standard Simrad sounder and the Evinrude gauges. Under that there are the rocker switches for lights, bait tank, wiper, bilge pump and the like and beside them is the control for the standard Volvo Penta trim tabs. And under that lot is the VHF radio.

Steering is taken care of by Seastar hydraulic which is great on an offshore boat on a day like we had.

The windscreen is of 6mm armoured glass. The sides of the hard top on the 5800 are not very long so you don’t get the sliding window you do on the bigger models but, that said, the ventilation was fine.

The cabin is a normal half-cabin affair with 1.7-metre bunks and some good stowage areas. It’s worth noting here that both the cabin and the hard top are lined with carpet which is good for insulation and noise reduction.

Across the top of the cabin are five Reel Easy rod holders which unclip and fold down towards you for ease of rod stowing and retrieval.

ON THE WATER

- The best laid plans…

You have to love a good sou’ easter, and we sure got one. Our plans were well laid out for us by our hosts from Quintrex/Yellowfin. We were to get up early and head out of Mooloolaba with a local fishing guide and head north to some whiz-bang fishing grounds and spend the day testing the boats in their natural environment – offshore fishing.

But Huey the Weather God had a different idea. Although the weather wasn’t so inclement as to keep us ashore, the 25-knot south easter had whipped up a bit of a ground swell and a nasty chop on the top. We were told it was worse up north and even in the lee of Point Cartwright we were still getting a bit of a pasting. Great weather for testing the boats though!

Word came through that the fishing was off but we still got out on the water with our Yellowfins.

I chose to grab the helm of the smallest boat in the fleet to see how it would handle the conditions and I certainly came away impressed. The 5800 with its overall length of 6.22 metres (5.92 bow-to-transom) is a relatively small boat for these conditions, but it acquitted itself well.

We headed north into some of the rougher water with three people on board, full tanks, an 'esky' and a bit of gear. The boat handled predictably when travelling with the seas – something you certainly do want. It didn’t wallow or try to broach, it tracked well and deflected the spray effectively, and what spray we did get on the screen was quickly whisked away with the wiper.

But it was when we turned around and headed back south into the wind and the chop that I really got impressed. The 5800 cut through the chop like the proverbial knife through caviar, and the E-TEC – albeit the upgraded 150 – pushed us along effortlessly. Sure we couldn’t blast along at WOT, and I found it hard to get any decent performance figures, but once we found the sweet spot, we could have gone on for hours.

I found that at around 3200rpm we were doing an indicated 15 knots and drinking just 20 litres/hour. At this speed all the crew were happy, the boat wasn’t slamming and I was sitting comfortably in the helm seat protected by the hard top.

It’s probably worth noting here that the 5800 has a 135-litre underfloor fuel tank that some may thing is a bit light on – especially if you are opting for the bigger engine like we had and wanted to do some longer offshore runs. But the Yellowfin boys told us that owners can opt to convert the 110-litre kill tank to a fuel tank which will add an extra 65 litres to the fuel load giving a total of 200 litres.

My notes tell me that the boat felt stiff and strong which is what you want at sea, and certainly with the hard top we came away feeling dry and, well, almost refreshed. Certainly not that we’d been bashing into a strong wind and a head sea.

VERDICT

- A new life for Yellowfin

This launch was touted as a ‘relaunch of the Yellowfin brand’ and that’s what has been achieved. The bosses at umbrella group Telwater have done a great job in designing a range of stout plate boats that will certainly find homes among the fishing fraternity across the country.

The fact that they’ve marketed the boats under the Quintrex brand is another good move. Not only is the Quintrex brand universally known and loved in this country, it means that the Yellowfins will be available through the Quintrex dealer network around the country and be backed by the brand’s after-sales service and warranty.

The boats are well built and well designed and there’s no doubt that we’ll be seeing quite a few more Yellowfins at ramps all over the country.

LIKES

>> Strong boat for offshore conditions

>> Good Handling

>> Excellent standard fishing features

>> Value for money

>> Backed up by Quintrex after-sales service

NOT SO MUCH

>> Needs a locking hatch for the anchor well

>> Restricted underfloor access

SPECIFICATIONS:

Priced from: $57,636 with 115hp Evinrude E-TEC, trailer, offshore safety gear and registration

LOA: 6.22

Beam: 2.4m

Depth:: 1.25m

Length on trailer: 7.62m

Height on trailer: 2.92m

Bottom plates: 5.0mm

Side plates: 4.0mm

Transom: 5.0mm

Weight (boat only): 962kg

Fuel (std): 135 litres

Engine on test boat: Evinrude E-Tec 150hp

Recommended HP: 115hp

Max HP: 150hp

Max people: Five

For more information go to: www.quintrex.com.au

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Quintrex Yellowfin 5800 Hard Top: Fishing Boat Review

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