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Can anyone give me some impressions on this boat in terms of ride, Quality, and fishability. I don't know too much about Scouts in general other than I hear the fit & finish is nice and their owners seem to be happy with them. What boat would you compare them to in terms of ride & quality?
I have mostly been looking at high end center consoles like a used 26 Regular, but with a new family I want to keep my options open and keep everyone happy. The boat will be kept in a slip, but I want something I can still trailer home on the off season and work on myself instead of giving the boat yard the rest of my money. I'll be using the boat to fish Vineyard Sound and offshore Chatham way and the back side of the Vineyard so I need something that can handle our waters. What do you guys thinK...?
You missed out an a good buy. THT member Wolakrab just sold his. Send him a PM and he should be able to give you real world info.
THT member Birdman owns one also. He bleeds Scout, so is biased, but will tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just don't ask him about the Steelers
Big Al
Pittsburgh has a football team
__________________ "Pedophiles must die" - Ted Nugent
As a Scout Abaco 242 owner I am a little biased but not by much. Scout makes a good upper tier boat and will run with the best boats out there but they are not considered to be the best. Why? I have no idea and have never heard a good reason why they should not be considered top of the line. Materials are top notch and the fit and finish are second to none. If I had any gripe about the Abaco it's the light weight which does not allow the hull to slice throgh the water like a battle wagon but the trade off is you get incredible fuel economy witht the light hull and the ride is not bad at all IMHO.
I put close to 170 hours on my boat this year and did not have one thing fail. Scout has been great with customer service and I would definitely buy another or at least put them on the short list for the next boat.
I owned a 28 center console. As far as ride not in the same ballpark as Regulator. Fit and finish is above average and lots of nice features to keep the whole family happy. I took mine to the canyons once and would not do that again, very, very long ride home if the weather kicks up at all.
Ed
__________________ See my 2002 185 Edgewater for sale here on THT
Wolakrab's boat is actually what got me interested in them. I made the MASSIVE mistake of showing pictures to the wife, now she's all about that style boat. Before this a promised the next boat would have a head in the center console and she was happy with that. Oh well, I'm still going to bring home what I want anway.
Anyone else have real world experience on this boat?
CMP, I think you and Fish Factory should join up and start the He-Man Scout-Hater's Club...........
I liked my Scout. It rode very well indeed for an outboard express with an actual LOA of a little over 26'. Did it ride as well as the Carolina Classic 28 I used to have? Oh, heck no......
And I wouldn't put it up against a Contender or Regulator in terms of ride quality, either. But it held it's own in honest 3-4' seas(with an occasional 5-6' thrown in from time to time)at 6-7 second intervals, and didn't beat me senseless. It was a very dry ride, as well....the big reverse chines knocked most of the spray down or away. The cockpit was HUGE for a boat its size.....3 grown men could move around while fighting a fish without tripping over one another. Fit and finish was excellent, and the boat didn't sound like a tambourine every time it met a wave while under way.
The only thing I would like to have seen was a larger area at the helm console to mount more than one large screen piece of electronics. The scuppers were somewhat of a weak point. If any of the rubber valves were missing, you tended to take on a little water. Each scupper had 2 valves-an inner and outer, and if both were missing, you basically had a hole in the side of the boat that was at water level when the boat was loaded with 4 guys, 200 lbs. ice, full tanks of fuel, fresh water, and gear. But the valves are easy to put in, and if all are present, there is no problem. I did have them missing on one scupper while fishing offshore when I was loaded like I described. At worse, the boat had 3" of standing water at the very rear of the cockpit, and as the day wore on and we burned fuel & provisions, it became less of a problem. At no time did I feel in danger, and none of the water got in the bilge.
I enjoyed the boat and would still have it if I didn't like inboard diesel expresses better......
I have to say the Scout 262 Abaco has me hooked. I know I can't afford it, not even sure what it's priced at, but man I want one In Fighting Lady Yellow with the hard top and all the other options. And it looks like there is tons of room at the helm with tons of freeboard and the cuddy looks like it also has tons of room for a boat that size.
Hmm.... Maybe I will buy one used in a couple of years
I believe the cockpit in the 242 Abaco is larger than the 262 Abaco but the cabin is a lot larger in the 262 and the helm is a lot larger in the 262. Fit and finish and overall appearance of the 262 is a lot better than the 242 or 28 Abaco. But remember that the 262 is a new design and the 28 and 242 are a bit dated. The new line up should be a real head turner.
A 28'boat (that's really 26') with 3" of water standing in the floor, with a "very, very long ride home if the weather kicks up at all"...described as "upper tier".
Wow, I wonder what "tier" a Trophy or SeaFox would be in.
A 28'boat (that's really 26') with 3" of water standing in the floor, with a "very, very long ride home if the weather kicks up at all"...described as "upper tier".
Wow, I wonder what "tier" a Trophy or SeaFox would be in.
We already know how you feel about Scouts FF. Is this opinion based on personal, hands-on, palpable, tangible(I could go on.....)
experience with them? Or from what you have read on the internet? C'mon......we've been here before.
Sometimes I wonder if you've ever owned one, fished on one, or even been on one. And I'm not talking about at the boat show, either.
Please spare us the diatribe.......
Thanks for the great pics scoutin.. I don't need to see anything in particular because at this point I am merely windowshopping anyway. But it's always nice to see photos of people's pride and joy
Riprunner, I will repeat, it's cheap junk and not the boat for you in Nantucket sound. Look here for info on a boat that can handle your home area. I've run both of them and the scout is a bad joke compared to real boats...
CMP, I am very familiar with the Ablin/Cape Cod 26 and if I go with a center console they will be on my short list if I can find a used one at a decent price. I'll also look at a 26 Sailfish, 26 Regulator, 25 & 27 Contender cuddy models, Conch 27 & Seavee 29 inboard model. I'm trying to keep my options open so I figured I would look at some trailerable express model boats as well. I have all winter to find the right boat and I know I'll sacrafice some sea keeping ability with a an outboard express style boat especially in a headsea. Every boat is a compromise.
28 Scout Abaco 
In Fighting Lady Yellow with the hard top and all the other options. And it looks like there is tons of room at the helm with tons of freeboard and the cuddy looks like it also has tons of room for a boat that size.
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