Wakeboarding - April 01, 2018

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AVAILABLE POWER:

OUTBOARD

The 251 XSS from Scout

Boats is the answer if you

seek a bay boat with the

features, such as outstand-

ing tops and towers, and

quality for which Scout is

renowned, but you need

more than a 23-foot-long

hull. Scout builds more

freeboard into its bay

boats than you might fi nd

when inspecting other

boatbuilders’ models, and

it designs the hulls to work

in both inshore waters as

well as when venturing of -

shore. This recipe results

in versatile boats that de-

liver confi dence underway

and pride of ownership at

all times.

The high-performance

hull upon which the 251

XSS runs made good

on what the big 300 hp

Yamaha outboard had to

of er. When we fi rewalled

the throttle, the 251 XSS

SCOUT

251 XSS

SPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATION

rpm knots mph gph naut. mpg stat. mpg range range n. mi. s. mi. angle levelsound

1000 4.4 5.1 1.4 3.2 3.6 193.7 222.9 0 71

1500 6.3 7.3 2.3 2.8 3.2 168.8 194.2 2 76

2000 7.0 8.0 3.9 1.8 2.1 109.1 125.5 4 81

2500 8.3 9.5 6.1 1.4 1.6 82.8 95.3 6 86

3000 14.9 17.1 7.6 2.0 2.3 119.7 137.7 4 90

3500 24.2 27.8 9.2 2.6 3.0 160.7 184.9 3 93

4000 31.7 36.5 11.9 2.7 3.1 163.1 187.7 2 92

4500 34.9 40.2 13.6 2.6 3.0 157.2 180.9 0 93

5000 39.4 45.3 20.0 2.0 2.3 120.5 138.6 0 95

5500 43.4 50.0 26.0 1.7 1.9 102.3 117.7 0 94

6000 49.3 56.7 26.5 1.9 2.1 113.8 130.9 1 96

MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEED

High Points

XForward casting platform is large

enough for two anglers to fish comfort-

ably; fitted with a center platform and

cushion set, it doubles as a relaxing

lounge for sun seekers.

XSelf-bailing cockpit makes leaving this

Scout at the dock worry-free.

XTall center console features a lift-up

forward seat/hatch revealing a privacy

locker with portable head.

Low Points

XFull-size enclosed console with T-top

may appeal more to the offshore crowd

than to inshore bay anglers who need to

wind into tighter angling spots.

XWe’d like to see ventilation added to the

head compartment.

Toughest Competitor

XAmerican Marine Sports’ Shearwater

25LTZ ( $83,805) compares well in over-

all size, weight and price. It features a

similar bow fishing/sunbathing setup,

has a bit more fuel capacity (75 gallons)

and is rated for up to 350 horses.

·LOA: 24'10"·BEAM: 8'6"·DRAFT (MAX): 1'1"

·DISPLACEMENT: 2,300 lb. ·TRANSOM DEADRISE:

18 degrees·FUEL CAPACITY: 68 gal.·MAX

HORSEPOWER: 300 ·AVAILABLE POWER:Single

300 hp Yamaha or Mercury outboard

ENGINE: Yamaha F300XCA PROP: Yamaha

Saltwater Series II 15.25" x 19" 3-blade stainless

steel GEAR RATIO: 1.75:1 FUEL LOAD: 35 gal.

CREW WEIGHT: 600 lb.

topped out at a speedy 56.7

mph winding a 19-inch-

pitch stainless-steel Yamaha

Saltwater Series II propel-

ler at 6,000 rpm. That’s an

impressive top speed, es-

pecially given the choppy

harbor conditions and the

three-person, 600-plus-

pound load with a half-tank

of fuel that our test boat

bore. With more setup and

seat time, this is a

legit 60 mph ride,

in our opinion.

Truly a hy-

brid, the 251 XSS

only draws 13

inches, which makes for

easy hunting of game fi sh in

backwater bays and creeks;

when it’s time for bigger

water, however, the wide

bow fl are and the hull’s

18-degree transom dead-

rise make for dry-riding

comfort. We can confi rm

that despite the lower free-

board typical of bay boats,

the Scout 251 XSS gave us a

secure and sure-footed dry

ride over the inner harbor

chop and boat wakes. The

speed is natural given the

boat’s relative light weight

(2,300 pounds, bare hull)

and the high-performance

hull design with engine

setback and lifting strakes.

It’s stingy with fuel too; at

4,000 rpm and 36 mph, we

saw our best mileage of 11.9

gph and 3.1 mpg. With its

68-gallon tank full, that’s

nearly 190 miles of roaming

and fi shing.

Scout’s clean rigging

and thoughtful engineering

touches are applied liberal-

ly. The Yamaha F300XCA

was rigged using a 10-inch

setback hydraulic jack plate

and electric trim tabs —

both standard equipment.

—John Tiger

To see a photo gallery of
the Scout 251 XSS, visit
boatingmag.com/3066.

SCOUT BOATS

Summerville, South Carolina; 843-821-0068;

scoutboats.com

PHOTO: COURTESY SCOUT BOATS

Price: $84,340

(base with test power)

56 | BOATINGMAG.COM | APRIL 2018