North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hi all, I'm in the market for a boat but I want to make sure I get the right one. I'd love a bar crusher but the missus wants a house so bit out of my reach for while. I do mostly barra fishing and inshore reef fishing and don't mind getting out wide weather permitting. Iv been considering the boats mentioned above in 5m or bigger, I know the quintrex quite we'll, but I do think they are well over priced for a pressed boat. Does anyone use the trail craft? Iv seen quit a few down south for cheaper than the quintrex. Any info would be great.

Cheers, barnzy

Having had both of these boats at one time for us there is no comparison.
Trailcraft 4.5 Profish was the wettest boat ever.
Self draining deck continuously flooding when fishing in any sort of swell.
Also very rough. Hull is the wrong shape.
Quintrex may be a bit more expensive but one of the smoothest and driest boats around.
We do now have a Barcrusher.
Totally different again to the Quintrex.
Just my opinion mind you.
thanks Doug.

I would get a plate boat - but not a trail craft they are safe but poorly desinged. But there are many more boats around and other discussion on the forum about pros and cons.

Jon

You ever considered a TABS boat? Nice thick plate, slices through the rough stuff like butter and an overall good looking, practical, stable boat, good for both river and blue water. Has great reviews on the www. I have the 5.1 TABS Territory Pro and it is sweet!

I've just purchased a pro fish 5.1 and couldn't be happier, have taken her out the last few weekends with the wind blowing and have had no more issues with being a wet boat compared to my old stacer I,d say it's a drier ride than that. Had no issues with the deck flooding, as long as you close the suckers, learnt that on the first run. All in all, pretty happy with the all round performance of the trailcraft.

Profish over a top ender.
Trailcraft are designed for a certain ocean, if you think they are poorly designed then you don't know much about boats......
It's always a compromise on what you want
Plate over pressed any day of the week

Owned a trailcraft for nearly 10 years now they are the perfect design for big swell as they recover quickly when going into it. They do lack the ability to punch through chop at speed as the design at the front of the hull is not as sharp as some boats. With the motor trimmed in it does help that chop and with some weight up front also. I have been in some poor weather and seen other boats have issues because of no self draining deck. They are very good in a following sea as they are a little bum heavy, they also require maximum hp as the hull is wide and needs that power to keep them on the plane at low speeds.
I have gone on trips with a lot of weight and yes the fuel economy suffers but does the job. Plenty of room to sleep on the floor if chats ya thing. Mine needs about 3 feet of water to motor around with the motor trimmed down an it has hull slap when trying to sleep at night from any wind.
They are good value for money boats and appear to be built well. Very easy to clean with the self draining deck no issues with sinkers, swivels etc in the bottom of the hull.
If ya want to know anything just pm me

Cheers for the info fellas, I have a bit of thinking to do now, I think I might take both for a test run and make my decision, does anyone that owns or has owned a top ender had trouble with cracking?

I'm onto my second trailcraft now. first was a 475 bow rider. now I have a 610 centre cab. I think Justin hit the nail on the head with his comments. I have mates that own a variety of boats, and as an overall package especially in rougher weather, the trailcraft wins most of the time.

With the bigger Trailcraft Justin I think Trim Tabs would solve your problem of going into the chop and carrying weight heaps. If you say they are a little heavy aft then the lift that Trim Tabs give is very noticable. They will improve fuel consumption in rougher conditions. Although I dont have a Traincraft my boat suffers the same conditions you discribe and the Trim Tabs make a huge difference. So if you already like the Trailcraft they can be made even better.