Quintrex has improved on one of its most popular larger models, the 610 Top Ender. I tested the new 610 Top Ender Tournament on the Coomera River on a doubtful day weather-wise, but there was nothing doubtful about the performance of the big Quinnie, that’s for sure.

The entire area forward of the shelved centre console of the 610 Top Ender Tournament is devoted to fishing. There are four neat fitting underfloor hatches, with pride of place devoted to a large central well that can easily be plumbed if necessary. A split bowrail above the wide knee-high decks is low enough to be unobtrusive, and because of the deck height the rail isn’t likely to be in the way of a bent rod. In spite of its low profile it is still very handy if you’re up front using the massive roto-moulded anchor well.

Stepping down into the main self-draining floor (it’s carpeted, as are the casting decks) there’s a pair of seat spigots forward of the console and another three aft. In the test craft the skipper’s pedestal seat was set in place, with another two seats set up ahead of the centre console.

The centre console was sensibly proportioned, not overly wide. It was set up in fine style with both top and side grab handles, Lowrance X135 sounder on top, a neat dash area, shelving, steering wheel linked to hydraulic steering, marine radio and a bank of switches. Forward controls for the Mercury 115 were set up on the outer edge to starboard and were well placed to drive either from a seated or a standing position.

Getting around the console if a big fish is in play should not present the slightest difficulty. As the owner of several centre console craft of my own, I have always been happy to trade off a bit of storage area for easy access throughout the craft.

The 610’s dash layout consisted of a speedo, hour meter, trim and tacho. It’s a simple set-up but effective in a dedicated fishing craft such as this.

Aft of the skipper’s seat was a massive amount of fishing room. The rig is rated to take up to seven people and I reckon all seven could fish here! The 610 Top Ender is 1.40m in depth so the gunwale height is up around the upper thigh level. That means there’s a lot of freeboard for offshore fishing plus immense safety for families.

Die-hard anglers are also looked after in the form of paired rod holders on each side, large carpet-lined side pockets, 50L transom livewell to port, off-floor shelving in the transom area and side grabrails.

Boarding from astern is via a retractable ladder to port with a grabrail. There is a large expanse of non-skid material on the pod astern which makes it easy to step over the full height transom to enter.

Storage areas are integrated into the floor area astern with paired hatches accessing under-floor storage boxes each side of the skipper’s seat spigot. The test rig’s battery was set into the starboard box.

An Igloo ice box was fitted to the test rig as well – a handy bit of kit that didn’t take up much room.

Anglers buying this sort of specialised fishing craft often want a bait board, so Quintrex has thoughtfully set up a mounting point, an extra seat spigot, on the transom. It would double as a ski pole mount point, of course.

One thing’s for sure, there is plenty of uncluttered fishing room in this boat and thanks to its massive 2.38m beam it’s as stable as a pontoon at rest. Whether you want to fish offshore, in creeks or rivers, or just tend a line of pots, this mighty craft will do it all with ease.

The text boat went like the clappers with four aboard. This big rig is rated for engines up to 150hp, but the well designed Millennium hull with its deeply flared bow and very fine entry needs little power to make it perform well. Perhaps to emphasise this point, the team at Quintrex set up the 610 Top Ender Tournament test boat with minimal power in the form of a 115 EFI Mercury four-stroke.

The Mercury was whisper-quiet at idle, with the tell-tale making virtually the only sound. With a push of the throttle lever the Mercury growled into life and really produced the goods. With four people aboard we planed at 15km/h at 3000rpm, which wasn’t bad at all given the weight of the rig. At 4000rpm we reached 42.2km/h, with 5000rpm recording 65.4km/h.

Good, I thought, very good indeed… but there was more. At 5800rpm we hit 72.4km/h! Four aboard, a decent fuel load in the 120L under floor tank and we were doing near 40 knots when powered by the rated minimum engine!

Additionally, while the speed was impressive the get-up-and-go of the Mercury 115 was also notable. It proved willing and responsive at virtually any engine revs.

Just what sort of speeds the 610 would provide with a 150hp on the stern would certainly be interesting to find out! For people who get their jollies from travelling fast on the water I’m sure the well built and well designed Millennium hull with its 4mm bottom, 3mm sides and high standards of construction would handle the power with ease. These big Top Enders have a terrific following in the north of our big brown land where long-distance boat travel with big payloads is par for the course. Up there, it’s a big selling point for a boat to be able to be powered by engines as large as a 150.

With a beam of 2.38m, a length of 6.08m and substantial weight, how could this craft be anything but stable? Four people on the one side made hardly any difference at all, such was the inherent stability of the rig.

Driving was a blast, too. Thanks to its hydraulic steering, driving the 610 Top Ender Tournament was virtually like driving a family sedan. Any wash or waves encountered on the Coomera River translated into only slight bumps, and in my opinion it would take some serious waves to upset the occupants of this craft.

Users can expect a mainly dry ride unless they encounter strong winds quartering over substantial chop – and a lot of other open craft would also be wet in these conditions. Given the height of the Top Ender’s sides and its excellent bow design, conditions would need to be pretty bad for you to get wet.

If I had to rate this massive craft as a fishing boat I would give it a lot of marks out of ten. Features abound to keep anglers happy and the work room is phenomenal. Performance from the minimum powered hull was remarkable, stability never in doubt and the handling was almost car-like. The fit and finish was also up to the best Quintrex standard.

In all, this is a big boat with big potential for the serious angler. The price was reasonable, too, at around $48,530 for the complete package. For more information drop in to see your nearest dealer or visit the Quintrex website at www.quintrex.com.au.