The Outback Explorer comes in three sizes – the 350, 370 and 390.
EVERYONE’S boating experience is different. There are many anglers who hadn’t touched a rod or even been in a boat until a mate took them deep sea fishing and, as a result, they loved it and bought their first boat. There are many others, me included, who started out on tinnies as young kids and grew from there. Others may have started boating in a luxury Riviera, but it seems most of us start out small and go up from there.
We may start out in a tinny but market research shows an interesting trend. We start out in something small, cheap and light. Many of us move into something a little more serious. As we have families and get a little older, we move to something bigger and a lot more comfortable. But what is really interesting is that the research suggests that as we then get older and retire, many of us go back to the little old tinny. Only this time, we have it on the roof of the car as we tow a van or even a camper around the country. We tend to go full circle.
Quintrex understand its market and as all good manufacturers should, they also listen to the dealers. The dealers have been screaming out for more small tinnies. They can’t get enough of them. In fact, the little Explorers have been one of the best selling boats in Australia for many years. And even though there are thousands of them out there, you will find it hard to even buy one second hand. Everyone who has a little tinny in the shed is keeping it because they are just so easy and versatile. I even have one in my shed.
With this in mind, the marketing and small boat team at Quintrex got together and redesigned the Outback Explorer for the grey nomads as well as the tinny rats.
What’s New?
The Outback Explorer comes in three sizes – the 350, 370 and 390. Traditionally, these hulls have been your standard sub four metre tinny.
The huge success of the Quintrex F Series bows on the bigger fishing hulls like the Hornets meant that the team had to look at incorporating this into the Outbacks. The additional room up from that this bow design gives meant that this is where the Outback upgrade started.
Not only does the F bow provide more space, the bottom slowly tapers up from around midship to the bow, providing a drier ride.
The Outback stows neatly on top of cars and trailers.
There has also been a slight increase in the deadrise. Deadrise is the angle of the bottom of the boat at the transom. If this is dead flat, like in a flat-bottomed punt, there is no deadrise and that boat will ride rough over the chop. The payoff for a punt is that these boats are very stable for their size. The Outback has been widened, which improves stability. Therefore, Quintrex has been able to increase the deadrise without affecting the stability. This gives a smoother, dryer ride but also prevents wear on the hull from being belted around and reduces noise while fishing.
During the on-water testing, the spray was being deflected from the middle of the hull. This meant that by the time the wind caught the spray, it wasn’t being thrown back over the driver.
Even more obvious than the change to the bow are the high sides on the Outback. The depth of the hulls across the range have been increased up to 230 mm. That may not sound like much but when you are fishing in croc country, that extra 230 mm is greatly appreciated. The higher sides are also helpful in keeping the gear on board dry as well as additional safety benefits when kids are on board.
The build
After spending some time on the water, the team at Quintrex gave Fisho a tour of the small boat factory. The tour was not with the sales team or marketing manager but instead was with the guys that build the Outbacks. Everything from the temper of the aluminium, the pressing for extra strength and the welding process is all strictly controlled to ensure a quality product.
Additional features of the Outback Explorers include foam filled seating to achieve basic flotation, glove box storage in the forward seat, a front gusset and two rear corner gussets for added strength and welded-in seats. Additionally, all the standard features you’d expect from a hull like this are there. Ribbing with rib tape for noise reduction, transom bracing, handles and single T-piece keel make the Outback Explorers a very neat and tough hull.
Whether it is a roof topper you are chasing or a tinny to get the kids started in boating, the new design and improved features of the Quintrex Outback Explorer make it worth looking into.
