When he’s not running the tackle industry or leading high-level negotiations with politicians and bureaucrats, Allan Hansard loves nothing better than going fishing.
Based in Canberra, Allan’s day job is CEO of the Australian Fishing Trade Association. He’s also the MD of the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, the peak body representing anglers around the nation.
Not surprisingly, Allan’s pretty busy but, like all keen anglers, he somehow manages to find time to get out on the water.
Up until recently he ran a 5m half cab but a latent interest in sportfishing, especially involving lures and fly, led him on a search for something more versatile.
The boat Allan eventually decided on was one of Quintrex’s popular 520 Renegades. Fisho recently had the opportunity to join Allan and his 23-year-old son James for the boat’s maiden voyage in the Shoalhaven River.
Being based in Canberra means the Hansards enjoy easy access to the Snowy Mountains trout lakes with the estuaries and inshore reefs of the NSW South Coast just a two-hour drive away.
These options obviously influenced the choice of an open yet seaworthy boat like the Renegade. One week the Hansards could be slow trolling the yabby beds of Eucumbene in search of trophy brown trout, the next they could be anchored up on an inshore reef drifting baits for snapper.
A boat like the Renegade, which features a side console, 3mm alloy construction, a good deep vee for handing chop and small swells plus plenty of room and storage for active sportfishing, is one of the better examples of what can be described as a “multipurpose” hull.
Our test day in the Shoalhaven, which mainly involved lure fishing around rocky shorelines in search of bass and estuary perch, demonstrated that the Renegade is ideally suited to estuary sportfishing. It would likely prove just as adept targeting inshore species like snapper, kings, jewies, salmon and tailor.
I’d personally have no dramas taking this boat offshore in search of marlin and tuna – on the right day and with all the appropriate safety gear, of course!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. With an 80lb Minn Kota iPilot electric engine at the bow, the boat proved easy to manoeuvre around the rocks and boulders we were fishing. Access into shallow water – less than a metre – wasn’t an issue.
With the max 115hp on the transom, you could easily blast between spots. On the test day we were chasing the tide up and down the brackish middle sections of the Shoalhaven so the power of the four-cylinder E-TEC proved very handy.
A lot of the packages available with this hull feature a 90hp. While that power would be adequate, I’m a firm believer in fitting a boat with its max horsepower.
This reasoning is because performance is generally much better, especially if you load the boat up with gear. Being bigger and more powerful, the engine doesn’t need to work anywhere near as hard – or use as much fuel – to do the job.
Fishability
Having spent a day with Allan and James fishing out of their new Renegade, I came away pretty impressed with the overall fishability of this Aussie-built tinny.
There’s plenty of room for three or even four to comfortably fish and underfloor storage is excellent in a boat of this size.
There are four separate compartments, including a large and deep livewell, under the front casting platform and another four under the rear deck (including another livewell and a neat little compartment to store used lures and other tackle before clean-up at day’s end).
An open anchor well with cleat and a roller is positioned at the bow. I really don’t like open anchor wells in smallish boats.
Presumably Quintrex offers a lid as an option – apart from safety reasons (ie, preventing the anchor bouncing out while underway), a deck infill at the bow offers yet another area from which to fish.
Decent sized side pockets, plus open storage under the side console and a clear glovebox for phones and wallets rounded out what I reckon is pretty good storage for a boat of this size.
Allan will need to install vertical or horizontal rod storage – I’d probably get mounts under the gunwales to keep rods safe and secure.
The boat came standard with four plastic rod holders mounted on the gunwales for basic trolling requirements. I’d be mounting a couple of adjustable Scotty rod holders to the side rails to allow for more effective trolling, especially when targeting trout.
Allan has plans to mount a Scotty downrigger, again mainly for trout fishing.
The boat came standard with two seats, with three seat positions. The floor is carpeted and the finish and fit-out looked to be first class.
Electronics
As mentioned, Allan’s had a 24-volt 80lb Minn Kota installed on the bow. The twin deep cycle batteries used to power the unit are housed under one of the front deck hatches.
Allan chose Lowrance HDS sounder/plotters for his new boat – a HDS 9 Touch and a HDS 7 Touch. Unfortunately, a bit of miscommunication during the install saw the 9 flush mounted into the bulkhead at the bow and the 7 mounted on the console.
It was meant to be the other way around! And flush mounting the 9 means you can’t see the screen when you’re fishing from the front casting platform … Bugger!
Allan has plans to move the screens around, fill the hole up front with a tackle storage box and use a RAM mount so the front sounder can be better utilised. A Lowrance VHF radio and Sonic hub rounds out the electrics package.
The test boat featured the usual switches, lights and pumps, all powered by a separate transom mounted deep-cycle house battery.The E-TEC runs from its own crank battery. A switching system means the engine charges both batteries (either individually or simultaneously).
The boat sits on one of Quintrex’s nifty hybrid alloy/gal trailers, which reduces overall tow weight while minimising corrosion issues.
Allan’s had a custom travel cover made up and the boat sports a stylish wrap promoting Keep Australia Fishing and AFTA.
Allan also opted for a removable bimini sunshade for family days with his wife and daughter.
All up, Allan told me he’s stoked with his new pride and joy. We christened it with some nice Shoalhaven bass and EPs and there are already various plans being hatched involving trips up the north coast.
Stay tuned for more, including full fuel and performance figures.
Quintrex Renegade 520 SC
LENGTH: 5.23m
BEAM: 2.25m
HULL: 3mm (bottom & sides)
MAX HP: 115
WEIGHT: 450kg (hull only)
PRICE: As tested, about $45,000
INFO: www.quintrex.com.au, www.afta.net.au, www.keepaustraliafishing.com.au
This story was originally published in the Fishing World February 2014 issue.
