QUNTREX has been hard at work making a number of changes to its popular range of Top Ender tinnies. As a result, the boat now has more features and options, including a new 4mm bottom and 3mm sides for extra strength and rigidity. If you’re not familiar with the Quintrex Top Ender, there are nine different hull lengths with sports console and tiller steer configurations.
The Top Ender is an extremely versatile fishing boat. Its generous freeboard allows it to be utilised offshore while being just as comfortable as a bay or estuary boat. As the name suggests, the hull was originally intended to provide a safe fishing platform for anglers in northern Australia. Combined with the smooth riding Quintrex Blade hull, the Top Ender has become just as popular in the south as it is up north.
The layout
Fisho recently put a Top Ender 510 through its paces to investigate these changes. The test boat was the SC version, which has a newly designed side console. At just over 5.1m in length and with a 2.25m beam, the hull is big enough to be used as a family fishing boat or for chasing snapper in the bay or mackerel from the reefs. Its versatility is no doubt a strong point. A big casting deck makes it ideal to be fitted with a bow-mounted electric motor for inshore lure casting.
The sports console has been redesigned to allow for a generous amount of dry storage. The console also has plenty of real estate to house most of the electronics popular with this style of boat. Changes to the Top Ender include underfloor storage, full length side pockets, new alloy pedestal seat mounts and posts, as well as deluxe carpet that resists heat – ideal when fishing with bare feet! There are also additional options that weren’t previously available. One involves is a large rod locker, making the Quinny ideal for tournament anglers or fishos with too much tackle. Add the bow mount thruster plate and live well, and the Top Ender becomes a very serious sportfishing unit.
The deep freeboard and wide gunwales of the Top Ender, along with side and bow rails, give it a very secure feel, making it ideal for families with young children. The underfloor fuel is 95l. This can be upgraded to a larger tank but at the expense of underfloor storage. Quintrex has always offered plenty of options for its entire range, making customising your boat a breeze. The test boat was fitted with a number of options such as bimini, rod locker and a Lowrance HDS12 colour sounder.
As mentioned, the Top Ender can be optioned up for tournament fishing, but families can add options such as transom door, ice bin and ski pole. This quickly converts what’s traditionally been known as a hard-core fishing boat to a family weekender. Quintrex has a number of standard features that many boat manufacturers consider options. These include a live bait tank, VHF radio, transom ladder, painted hull and carpet. The new and improved Top Ender hasn’t come at a cost. Quintrex told Fisho the improvements have been made without increasing the retail price of the boat.
Performance
The Blade Hull is one of the best performing alloy hull designs ever created, I believe. The Blade offers a significantly drier, smoother and quieter ride, especially in the wind chop typical to bays and estuaries around the country. With a dry weight of 570kgs, the Top Ender is light enough to give excellent performance from as little as 75 ponies on the transom but has a hull design that gives the skipper the feel of a much larger, heavier hull.
The test boat was fitted with a 115hp E-TEC, which had the hull straight up on the plane to deliver a top speed of just under 37 knots. Running at 3500revs, the Top Ender cruised at 19 knots and was able to plane at just over 10 knots. The test 115hp was max power for the 510 with a 90 an option if you wanted to save a few bucks. With excellent stability at rest and very easy slow speed manoeuvrability, the Top Ender seemed to me to tick all the boxes for an alloy hull of this size. The control box felt a little high for my liking but that would be something that you’d get used to.
Fishability
Fishing is what the Top Ender is all about. The high sides, Blade Hull and flared bow means that the Top Ender is ideal for close reefs and bay fishing when the weather is being kind. And let’s face it, who wants to be out there when it’s not? The Top Ender is also ideal for family fishing with the kids or out soaking a few baits at night. Cockpit lights are standard and the comfortable, movable pedestal seating is ideal for relaxing with a bait in the water.
Sports, tournament and club fishermen can also have the Top Ender set up with electric motor, live well and decked out casting platforms to allow for lure or fly casting. The side console configuration allows for plenty of deck space and the rod locker option is big enough for seven and even eight-foot rods. That’s a lot of boat for a hull that is just a little over five metres long…
More information including the complete range can be found on the Quintrex website.
