hornet trophy 400 or explorer trophy 395???

[FIN-atic]

hello all,

I'm in the process of buying a new boat and i've come down to these two models. My last boat was a 385 explorer which i decked out close to the 395 trophy- it was a great boat but i believe the hornet hull is a lot better ride. The biggest thing i can't get my head around is the set up of the front casting platform in the hornet 400 - why don't build it flush on one level like the explorer trophy? when i'm hooked up to a fish the last thing i want to think about is where i'm putting my feet and not twisting ankles?

Any feedback on these boats would be appreciated.

FIN-atic

[angler 3.55]

mate to be honest i couldnt recomend quintrex boats, i know quite a few fellas as myself have had alot of problems with the hulls i.e. the hulls have bubbled up and caused cracks, their service is nill and they seem to not care about any problems people have had with their boats. if i was you i would look at getting a mako craft they look like a mint boat and they are priced really good .

[breamN2wheels]

ive got a 4 meter Hornet Trophy with a 40hp Mercury and i recon it goes great! the Millenium hulls on the hornets are a fantastic design as well.

My boat also has the un even front deck but i dont have a problem with it i work around that... i put one foot on the very top part and have the pedal on the lower, my pedal is huge so it makes up for the gap and creates a nice flat standing surface i find.

will soon be raising that deck though.

HTH

p.s. the hornets are only breaking due to poor live well postioning - ill leave that to someone else that specializes and knows more about it.

[Rossco32]

That 400 hornet of James's use to be mine. I sold it to him early this year.

It has been to sharkbay once, around cape natrualist(sp?) chasing Salmon a few times and has taken everything I've thrown at it. We even covered 80 odd nautical miles in one day!

Any failures? NOPE!
Split seams? NOPE!
Cracked ribs? Nope!

Are they a good hull?

Absolutely, Not as dry as my current boat (or as fast) but much drier than an explorer (ask Ben Rose).

My (Jameses) boat didn't have a live well under the fore deck....... I hear they may be the root cause, too much weight on the rib there.

If I hadn't bought my current boat I would buy another Hornet Trophy in a heart beat (a 435).

Rossco

[Yardi]

I own a 4.35m Quinnie Hornet and I agree with James and Rossco, Great Boat.
Extremely stable fishing platform, I have yet to experience the porpoise effect people talk about when boat is on the plane.
40 Yammie on the back and 120 litre live well in the front still manages to move along well.
I have had this boat for 12months now and its copped a bit of hiding, took it up to Karratha and fairly gave it a beating getting up some creeks and out around the Islands.No obvious flaws yet.
Pretty happy with mine gotta say.
Don Johnson here in WA has a nice Quinnie for sale at a fantastic price, if didnt already have one I would snaffle that straight away,
if it hasn't already gone.
Yardi

[jigger]

have got a 435 hornet trophy which i have had for 3 months and absolutely dig it !

bought new with a yammy 40hp 4 stroke with livewell upfront and it is a joy to fish from

gives a very stable ride and i would'nt swop it for anything

the people i have taken out fishing have also been impressed with the boat

go the hornet !

[Gagga]

I to was recently faced with the very same dilema.

In the end I chose the 395 Explorer trophy for a number of reasons.

1. Despite the name, the explorer is actually a longer and wider boat, meaning more stability. The Hornet's hull cuts throught the water better, but when your using the boat in lakes and rivers this isn't a problem as there is never to much chop.

2. The reason you bought up, i could only see trouble arrising from the split level platform on the front deck in the Hornet.

3. The third reason was the cost, even after i added a live bait tank and sounder the price was still less then the 4m hornet.

I have a 30hp Yammy on the back and the boat moves very well indead. As for the earlier comment about Quintrex hull being poor in quality I would have to completely disagree.

This is my third Quintrex boat and I have never experienced any problems with the hull in any of the boats. They are Australia's Premium Aluminium boat.

[robbo999]

hi fin-atic,
I currentlty own a 4 mtr stacer base elite, 40hp yamaha.
the stacer's are made by the same company as the quintrex - telewater. I have had this boat for 18 months now and i can not fault it. they have a full casting next on the bow which is at the same level.
they also have a eclipse hull basically the same as the millinium hull on the hornet.

just another option for you.

cheers

robbo

[Rosie]

I have ridden in both boats, 2x 400 Hornets, a 395 a fair bit and a 385 a fair bit.

From my experiance the Hornet is a much superior ride and handles no-end better then the Explorers(no offence Carol, I still love the Lone Ranger Trophy). The 395 (Carols) was far better then the 385 in every way with stability and ride but both were great unless you need to cross Melville Water or the Peel Inlet.

We were in the 385 on Melville Water one day and had the front clipping waves and then the engine cavitating. Rossco on the other hand was sitting up dry as a bone booting along next to us as compfy as he would be in his loungeroom.

For the extra beens mate i'd fork out for the Hornet and make sure to go the full 40hp on it.

[thebreamhunter]

ive got a 4metre hornet and its awesome mines got a side console and ive extended the deck right back to it, have a 40 etec and its great, also a mate has a 4 metre and for atound $200 quintrex made thge front deck the same height eliminating the step

[Tymo]

I ordered my 4 mtr Hornet Trophy with level front casting deck, bow mount & short front rails. I am looking at extending the casting deck back to the next rib & fitting an 80 lt livewell in the front as far back as possible to keep the weight in the centre. The boat is fitted with a 40 hp yammy 2 stroke & goes great, love it.
Cheers, Steve.

[FIN-atic]

Thanks a lot guys for all the feedback. I'm definately swaying towards the hornet. The salesman told me that quintrex wouldn't be able to build the deck level but he was just trying to sell me the boat in the yard! It's a good deal he's offered me but there are some disadvantages like the fact it's only got a 30 hp on it and i believe the 40 would be ideal. I will also check the bass elite too and see how the price compares. I would really like to see some photo's of the 400 hornet with the side console as sounds pretty cool but might choke up a bit too much space.

Thanks again for all the advice.

FIN-atic!

p.s. If anyone else has anything else about these boats please continue posting. ta !

[Tymo]

Definatly get a 40hp motor, I mate had a 30hp on his Hornet & wouldn,t plane with 3 on board.

[Lone Ranger]

Originally posted by FIN-atic
The salesman told me that quintrex wouldn't be able to build the deck level but he was just trying to sell me the boat in the yard!

That is a lot of rubbish I'm afraid. They tried that on me too, I went to several places and same story. Quintrex will do it for over $300 however in my opinion not really worth it. On another forums guys just built up the level themselves and did a perfect cheap job. Hornet is definitely the way to go and the step down was one of the reason that put me off. In the end I went the 395 as the trailer for the Hornet would not fit in my garage, and also due to lacking in fund. May I add I didn't want the motor it came with and wanted a Mercury instead .... boy did the dealer have a whinge first and eventually I got my Mercury and it was the first Mercury he ever sold! A word of warning, if you get changes done to the Quintrex from the factory, don't trust the dealer, he ain't interested and as for the factory, well, they don't like to produce something slightly different from the production line and basically couldn't give a xxxx-xxx about it. Mine arrive without lots of parts from the factory and the dealer couldn't give a xxxx either and today I am still waiting for promised parts that never arrived. As as example, I never got a HIN sticker on the boat, never got a letter from Quintrex stating I increased the thickness to 2ml (which I had requested, and the dealer unwilling agreed he would get for me) and months later when I got it (found out from Quintrex the dealer never requested it), the letter stated '385' instead of '395'. Wonder if the thickness was ever increased, what proof do I have? Best I don't get started about how unhappy I was with the dealer and Quintrex. In the end, as a form of apology, they asked me what they could do for me! .... well I wasn't shy and demanded a Quintrex lean seat, worth about $200.

Quintrex may be good hulls (from what I hear) .... don't really know as I have nothing to compare with, but efficiency of the dealers is questionable indeed, worst than car salesmen, IMO! And it's not that I've never ever done an official business dealing before either, I'm rather familiar in this area and done signed bigger contracts than this. This dealer came highly recommended too ... however since then I have heard a lot of negative comments re the dealer too!

You live in Queensland so life should be easier for you. If you need to call the Quintrex factory direct, PM if you need a special number that is not released to the public. Surprisingly when the public get through to this number, they are rather helpful!

Hope this give you some idea what I think of Quintrex dealers anyway! ... Oops maybe I shouldn't generalise

[Angel]

Go the Hornet I have a standard 4m widebody model with the extruded side decks and a 30 hp yammie which is the maximum rating for the standard hull. I would love to put a 40hp on her but a bit of extra transom strengthening would be needed no doubt.Still does 21knots 2 up with a full 100lt livewell.My livewell is located in the middle so have had no probs with hull warping.