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Random Quote: Good eatin' size is a term used only by those who catch small fish.
Im looking at a 2002 28 Abaco with 37 hrs. that is loaded with all options and never been in Salt Water. It has 200 hpdis with 2 years remaing warranty. Need feed back if this is a good performing boat in off shore and Chesapeake Bay Condittions? I love the lines and features. It fits my families fishing needs and my wives who fishes regularly. I was thinking about new but had an awful experience with a 04' 2502 trophy with a 225 opti max that blew at 149 hrs. Also bad rigging problems, and listing I want out of that and this guy in ohio will take a trade on my boat. After my trade and buying a new trailer it will cost me 85,000. I like the speed the Abaco can produce for off shore runs as well as A.S.A. fishing trail that we fish as a family. I need the comforts for the fam as well as the hardcore fishability - Please help with any suggestions by Abaco owners. I dont want to make another mistake like I did on the 2502 trophy. Thanks
Disregard anything fishfactory says as he is a disgruntled ex scout employee that probably got fired for playing on the internet instead of working.
I have a Scout 28 Sportfish and love it, it is very well constructed, rides good and is all in all my favorite boat I have owned. It has issues like any boat made but they are minor items. Others will chime in with their experiences and you will find them to be positive.
Some of the smaller Scouts had issues with scuppers a while back but I have no issues on the 28.
Flieman
Disregard anything fishfactory says as he is a disgruntled ex scout employee that probably got fired for playing on the internet instead of working.
Yeah, probably good idea to temper any third had info with common sense.
The photos mentioned above were taken by a Scout owner...
also "search" these Abaco owners' comments...
"knotsurfing" 280 Abaco sent back to factory,
"golden3" 2004 Abaco sent back to factory,
"Doghouse 2" 242 Abaco sent back to factory,
"tarpon007" said..."she wasn't made very well, and showed that in a very short itme."
Fish factory - have you ever made a quality post to help somebody or is everyone something bad about Scout. Pull up Fish factorys post and check it out, unbelievable negativity toward everything. I sure am glad my life does not center around pissing people off.
Well flieman FWIW it has an effect, I just decided against a Scout based not just on what Fish Factory posts here, but as he notes many others. I believe they make some excellent boats, but then there are others that are not. I wasn't willing to take that chance on one of the most expensive boats on the market.
To have 3 or 4 Scout owners with boats sent back to the factory on this site alone for a relatively small outfit, that isn't a good sign, again JMHO.
I just want some more input on the scout, I found some good and bad in all boats, I just want honest experienced answers by 28 Abaco or Sportfish owners. How the boat performs in conditions, stability , and how they holdup. Like I said I want to make the right move this time.
I refuse to ruin my day with a idiot so I will not refer to you again fish factory.
The 28 rides very good, does well in a head sea and a following sea. It will get you wet on any quarter seas as most boats will. It has enough deadrise to keep the slams to a minimum, here in the Gulf off of Texas we encounter 4 ft seas that are 3-4 seconds apart so it does test a boat more so than florida. I would love to live in Florida where guys talk about running 35 kts in 3-4s, no way here. The general construction of the boat is excellent as well as the finish work. I use my boat 2-3 times a week and have 400 hrs on it in 1 year so it gets used. I have had nothing major other than pumps etc that mess up. The wiring is all excellent with heat shrink applied and tinned wire used. I have been out 126 miles on a overniter 2 wks ago and burned 235 gallons and never turned the motors off for 37 hours. I hauled 2 55 gal drums of gas and did not need that much but felt good about having extra. My boat has F225 Yams on it and will run about 50 knots against the pins , at cruise it gets around 2 mpg at 33 kts. If you need anything else just ask.
Flieman
He see's an opportunity to trash Scout and he runs with it.
He didn't (and would never) stop me from getting my second Scout in 3 years. I am going from the 242 to the Vintage 280. A little different than your prospective O/B powered Abaco, but pretty much the same hull.
I doubt that there is a brand on this board that hasn't been sent back to the factory. In fact, if I had a problem with the boat which required some glass work or re-fitting, I would prefer that the boat went back to the folks that built it. Anyone that cancels a purchase of a particular brand boat just because of a reported defect that sends it back to the factory is just a milk-toast and would never be satisfied with ANY purchase since they will always be listening/watching what other people have to say about his boat.
While fishing for salmon out the Golden Gate yesterday in my 242 (maybe one of the last trips in it) I was fishing next to a 280. Looked great sitting on the water out in the ocean, and made me want mine sooner...Oh well, I'll just have to wait until they finish buiding it to get mine.
Anyone who keeps track of negative comments about a particular brand boat like F-F does, needs to get a real life. Or take his much needed medications (or maybe both).
If he would channel his passions in a productive direction, maybe he could have a better life, rather than the one that he lives now. Just sitting in front of his much-loved best friend, his computer, while keeping his right hand very busy (or maybe his left hand...if he is a south-paw).
I don't blame you for having a bad taste in your mouth for what you have gone through with your Bayliner. At the same time, don't think that all new boat purchases go that direction either.
I am currently on boat number 17, with number 18 on order. Most of mine have been purchased new, albeit, after considerable negotiations and at huge savings over the first price quote.
Check your pricing. I'm sure that the dealer is holding some extra gross in the deal to cover the trade, and if that works for you, great, go for it. Just know that new 280 Abaco's with the 225's and a trailer can be had for just under 100K. Sure, that doesn't include electronics, but at least you can pick out your own as you need them.
I recently talked with a buddy of mine in the boat business. They are sucking wind right now. The price of fuel has slowed down the buyers, so they are getting desperate, especially now that Labor Day is upon us. Winter is just a few months away.
ABoater, on the contrary there were other things about the Scout I didn't like in retrospect. One, I do not like an open transom of any sort. Wave gate or no that opening is a weak spot in the boats ability to float in a bad situation. It's the first place water will flow in from assuming the scuppers don't leak. Second, bilge access was average to poor at best on most Scout's I saw. I want to have every single seacock within arms reach quickly if a hose goes or a pump assembly shatters. Pumps do actually bust and leak water, and without a contortionist many new boats make it darn near impossible to get to bilge pumps and other plumbing. Ultimately what turned me towards the McKee versus other brands (although I suspect Contender, Regulator etc are built with the same easy access (non liner boats)) is the ease of access, ease of construction inspection etc. Try to replace a bilge pump on a Scout or Edgewater in a pinch. With my new McKee it will take under 5 minutes. How long will it take to reach the seacock for the livewell if the hose suddenly ruptured? These were the things I took the closest look at in the new boat purchase.
The Scout scupper issue exists. Depending on who you talk to it still may exist on the 17, but not the 18. Either way, the fact engineering did not catch, or test to find these difficulties in 1 or 2 models makes me wonder. These were not structural or production issues which are great, these were engineering "issues". Of all the problems you read about on these forums there aren't many that can be attributed to poor design. Production problems yes, all manufacturers have them, but actually engineering issues? If you think others haven't read on this forum about these problems and bought elsewhere you are nuts, and it has nothing to do with being a "bad apple".
I think the demographic of Scout purchasers will put more Scout owners on a web forum than some other brands (age/income etc), but there have been too many 'back to factory' stories here for a smallish boat company. It's great that they will take a boat back to the factory if something goes wrong, but the idea is you don't want it to go back to the factory in the first place.
I do think Fish Factory has an axe to grind. However, none of you are refuting the factual portion of his posts which this time included specific references to specific boats. If these are fictional posters and stories than honestly they should sue him because it has and will cost sales. However, if what he reports is truthfull, I for one am glad he posted.
darn I want to be all knowing and one day aspire to be like fish factory, not! Talk of what you know not what you assume. My boat went to the factory for two non Scout related issues; trim tab problems and Yamaha bracket problems. They were the logical place for me to take the boat for warranty issues because I live near the factory. And it's the Sportfish not the Abaco.
Daydreamer, good luck with your decision. The Abaco sounds like a good fit. I am sure the 200's will push the boat fine, check with Birdman for performance numbers. He has the same setup as what you are considering.
daydreamer2- I often used to fish with a 280 Abaco owner in RI, he has the boat for 2-years and loved it. His was equipped with hpdi motors and I think he had some minor issues with one of them.
There are issues with some Scout boats as there are with any brand, the fact you see many issues posted on THT forum could be the result of the many Scout owners here and their openess in regards to posting with their boats.
You can pick any brand of boat on this forum and do a search and find negative comments, the more owners the more comments. In the past few weeks I have seen Regulator, Contender, Yellowfin, Trophy, etc, etc, bashed. Guys like Fish Factory take pride in bashing others rides, I guess it's a illness of some sort.
Scott- Congrats on buying the Mckee, I am glad to see that if you decided not to buy a Scout you did go with another high quality ride, which model did you get?
NewMoon, 24 Freedom. I loved the 210, but the persistent rumors and innuendos on water issues both here and from a surveyor I spoke with had me nervous. In the end my wife did not like the seating arrangement and the lack of bolsters. She also wanted a boat with a higher freeboard. There are absolutely no Scout 235's in this area to have even had the chance to buy one.
The only other thing that had me scratching my head on the Scout was rod holder placement in the rear. When we fish with bunker etc, I just don't see how I could have kept from getting tangled with them so close together.
Don't get me wrong, Scout impresses me as a great brand. I did not have a lot of boats to choose from this late in the year and like you said you cannot go wrong with a McKee or Scout.
Thank you all for the advise, I just need to make a decision on this boat or a newer one. The fact is I want to keep my price down as low as possible. Its comforting to know that this boat only has 37 hrs and never been in the salt.
I'm looking at an "04" Scout Abaco 28 w/ twin Yammy 250 4 strokes with 170 hours. After readig numerous threads on this forum I've looked over the boat twice (no sea trial yet, so don't know how it sits iin the water).
The owner hardly ever uses it (wealthy real-estate developer, busy building his Florida kingdom).......it has the same four circular scupper openings with "t" inserts that hold the flapper valves...they look just like the exhaust valves on a SCUBA regulator, btw, just a little bigger. They appeared flimsy, not very "form fitting" (read water tight) and the two starboard ones were missing entirely.
Again, as I said, I haven't seen how this boat suts in the water with a load...the fule tank appears to be fairly well forward, and the batteries are below the deck just aft of the helm, so that may be a good weight distribution forward design (or problem fix, don't know?).
You can bet I will make sure to have a load on the boat if I sea-trial it...if the owner will answer a few more questions and accept my offering price.
Stay tuned.....
My 2001 Abaco had 200HP HPDI's, which are considerably lighter than the 250 4-strokes. My guess is you will have water coming through the scuppers while the boat is at rest if fully fueled and you put a couple of guys in the back. Mine did when I had the boat loaded with 4 adults, full fuel & water, and fully provisioned for a day trip offshore. I would have 3-4" of water in the cockpit when trolling or under planing speed. The flappers helped, but did not keep water from coming in.
The only real problem I had with an otherwise perfect boat. I always wondered why Scout didn't correct it on that model....it was well-known problem the factory was aware of.
BTW....if you buy the boat, call Scout....they will send you a handful of the flapper valves no charge.
I have a 2001 28 abaco with 200 hpdi's love the boat, i have not had one problem with the engines as for the scupers the only time water comes in is when trolling for tuna 6-8 knts? when trolling for bass 2-3 knts no water when cruiseing no water when the boat is just siting there even with full fuel and 4 guys no water.
The Scout 185 I had never had that problem either. Before selling it, I aksed a larger friend to come stand in the back with me to see if we could make water come in, and it was a no go.
I think that while that problem might have afflicted some boats, it wasn't all.
28 Abaco Scout 
Yeah, probably good idea to temper any third had info with common sense. 
