March 28, 2026
The Regal 42 XO: Where Outboard Versatility Meets Yacht-Class Comfort
The Regal 42 XO pairs yacht-class comfort with shallow-water outboard versatility—triple Yamahas, retractable hardtop, full-beam lazarette a…
Read the articleThe Regal XO Series
The outboard express cruisers — 38 XO and 42 XO, 39'3" to 42'2", on triple Yamahas with a draft under 27 inches
The XO line exists to solve one problem: you want the accommodation of an express cruiser and the water access of a centre console, and normally you have to pick. Hanging triple outboards off the transom buys back two things a sterndrive or a pod boat cannot offer at this size — a draft you can tilt away to about two feet, and the entire volume where the engine room used to be.
That second one is easy to underrate until you stand in it. On the 42 XO the space becomes a full-beam lazarette 42 inches high with a fitted organisation system; it takes the dive gear, the paddleboards and the fenders that otherwise end up strapped to the foredeck. Everything above deck is the same recipe as the Grande Coupe: a single-level sole from transom to helm, a drop-down salon window, sliding glass doors and a proper galley.
We review two in depth: the 38 XO at 39'3" and the 42 XO at 42'2". Regal builds the XO range from the 26 XO up, and also offers both of these hulls as sterndrive Grande Coupes and as flybridge FXO and FLY models — the same boat, different power.
The XO Lineup, Smallest to Largest
Every Regal XO model we review in depth, in the order owners step up through the series.
Photo credit Regal.
The Regal 38 XO puts two real staterooms and a walk-in shower on an outboard platform — triple Yamaha F350s to 53.4 mph, a single-level cockpit-to-salon sole, and a 26-inch draft with the drives up.
The Regal 42 XO is the outboard answer to the 42 Grande Coupe — a 25-inch draft with the drives up, a full-beam lazarette where the engines would otherwise sit, and a retractable hardtop over the upper salon.
Don't see the XO model you're after — or a brand-new launch? Request specs through Yacht Specs Direct.
Moving Up the XO Series
The 38 XO is the smaller boat and the only one of the two Regal publishes performance data for. It runs 39'3" on an 11'11" beam with 18 degrees of deadrise, weighs 22,000 lbs dry and carries 360 gallons — a hundred more than the 38 Grande Coupe on the same beam, because there is no engine room eating into the hull. Triple Yamaha F300s are the base engine at 900 horsepower and triple F350s the upgrade at 1,050. On the F350s Regal records 53.4 mph flat out at 6,050 RPM, with best economy at 33.0 mph at 4,000 RPM burning 45.6 gallons an hour for 0.72 miles per gallon — about 230 statute miles with a ten percent reserve. Below there is a centreline Olympic queen forward and an aft cabin with a king that splits into twins, both behind privacy doors, and a head with a walk-in shower. Draft with the drives up is 26 inches.
The 42 XO is the bigger boat, and the honest headline is that Regal publishes almost nothing about how it performs. It is 42'2" on a 13-foot beam with 18 degrees of deadrise, weighs 28,150 lbs dry and carries 500 gallons — the largest tank in the line. Its drives-up draft is 25 inches, an inch shallower than the 38 despite three more feet of boat. The lazarette runs the full beam at 42 inches high. A retractable hardtop opens the upper salon, and a Seakeeper 3 is on the options list. What there is not is a performance test report or an engine option list: the triple Yamaha F425 XTOs quoted here come from Regal's own 42 FXO report on the same platform, and no speed, fuel-burn or range figure appears on this site for the 42 XO because the yard does not publish one.
The step between them is unusually lopsided. Moving up buys 140 gallons of fuel, a foot of beam, the biggest stowage space in any 42-footer we cover and an inch less draft. It costs 6,150 lbs — and it costs you the ability to check the manufacturer's numbers before you buy.
Our Take
Outboards on a 40-foot cruiser stopped being a talking point about five years ago, and the XO line is a good part of the reason. What still gets argued about is whether you give anything up, and on the 38 XO the answer is genuinely no: two cabins behind real doors, a walk-in shower, a single-level sole you can walk from the transom to the helm without a step, and 360 gallons where the sterndrive version of the same boat carries 260. Service happens at the transom instead of under the sole. That is a real ownership difference over five years, not a brochure line.
My problem with the 42 XO is not the boat, it is the paperwork. Regal publishes a full RPM-by-RPM test sheet for nearly everything it builds — three separate reports for the 36 Grande Coupe alone — and nothing at all for the 42 XO. Not a top speed, not a fuel burn, not even a horsepower figure on the page. I will not invent one, so this site shows no performance numbers for that model. Ask your dealer for the test sheet in writing and treat anything that arrives without one as a sales figure.
On which to buy: if you are choosing between the two on draft, note that the 42 is the shallower boat by an inch, which is not what anyone expects. If you are choosing on stowage, it is not close — the 42's lazarette is the single most useful space in either boat. And if you are choosing on evidence, the 38 is the one where you can actually see what you are getting.
Regal XO Articles & Guides
Watch Our Regal XO Reviews
Official Regal Premieres
Videos courtesy of Regal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Regal XO drafts less water?
The 42 XO, by an inch. It draws 25 inches with the drives up against the 38 XO's 26, despite being three feet longer and 6,150 pounds heavier. That is unusual — draft normally grows with size — and it is a large part of why owners cruising the Bahamas and Florida's Gulf Coast choose the bigger boat.
What does XO mean on a Regal?
It is Regal's designation for its outboard-powered express cruisers. Regal builds the XO range from the 26 XO upward, and offers the 38 and 42 hulls in parallel as sterndrive Grande Coupe models and as flybridge FXO and FLY models. Same boat above the waterline, different power on the transom.
Why are there no performance figures for the Regal 42 XO?
Because Regal does not publish any. The yard produces a full RPM-by-RPM test report for almost every boat it builds, including three separate reports for the 36 Grande Coupe, but there is no report for the 42 XO and no engine option list on its page. Rather than estimate, this site leaves its speed, fuel-burn and range figures empty and says so.
Which XO Fits Your Life?
Tell us how you plan to use the boat — guests, range, crew or no crew — and we'll give you the straight story on where in the XO series you belong, new or brokerage.
Explore All Regal ModelsOr reach Tony directly: TS@MintedYachts.com · +1 (404) 805-9819