Scout 400 LXF

The Scout 400 LXF is a 39'7" S-Class center console built in Carbon Epoxy Construction - carbon fiber and E-glass as the primary material in the epoxy infusion - over Scout's double stepped bottom. It carries 22 degrees of transom deadrise on a 12'1" beam at 14,940 lbs dry without engines, and 17,460 lbs with twin Mercury 600s fitted, the only rigged dry weight Scout publishes anywhere in this part of the range. Draft is approximately 27" and maximum rated power is 1,700 hp.

Fuel is 395 gallons as standard and 509 gallons with optional saddle tanks at 57 gallons per side. The boat also carries an 8 kW generator on its own 18-gallon diesel tank, a 12,000 BTU air conditioner, C-Zone digital switching, a Seakeeper 3 DC, three AGM house batteries, two 50-amp chargers and 50-amp shore power - all standard.

Deck capacity matches the length: 92.5-gallon aft fish boxes port and starboard with overboard diaphragm discharge, 66 gallons of baitwell in two aerated 33-gallon wells in the stern seat, ten flush-mount gunnel rod holders, five transom rod holders, a full transom walk-thru platform with an Armstrong dive ladder, a port-side beach platform and a midship mechanical room. The 400 LXF is NMMA and Yacht Certified.

Scout's current spec block rates the 400 LXF to 1,700 hp and publishes no recommended cruising horsepower. Two tested bulletins exist, both run with a Seakeeper aboard, and they describe genuinely different boats.

Quad Mercury 400 V10s (27p Rev X, tested at 19,280 lbs) reach 71.5 mph at 6,357 rpm, 0-20 mph in 4.77 seconds and 0-30 mph in 7.31 seconds, with 0.90 mpg at 34.5 mph (3,500 rpm). Twin Mercury 600 V12s (29p, tested at 18,000 lbs) reach 62.6 mph at 6,406 rpm, 0-20 mph in 5.14 seconds and 0-30 mph in 7.88 seconds, with 0.90 mpg at 32.6 mph. Scout publishes an estimated range of 355 miles on the standard tank and 458 miles with the saddle tanks, footnoted as estimates based on fuel consumption at optimal cruising speeds and sea conditions.

One caution on the paperwork: both bulletins predate the current model year and list 430 gallons of fuel and a 1,600 hp ceiling, while the current model page and flyer list 395 gallons standard, 509 with saddle tanks, and 1,700 hp. Confirm the tank figure on the build sheet for your model year.

The cabin is the reason this boat exists. Scout publishes 6'4" of standing room in the cabin, 6'3" in the head and a 6'5" sleeping length on a convertible queen berth. The head is fully enclosed with a shower, toilet, glass vessel sink and a mirrored vanity cabinet, and the galley carries a sink, a single-burner glass cooktop, a microwave and a drawer refrigerator. A 12,000 BTU air conditioner runs off the standard 8 kW generator.

Finish detail is deliberate: a Corian berth table, port and starboard windows with privacy shades, LED accent lighting, a 32" LED TV, AC outlets in both the head and the berth, and five vertical rod holders inside the cabin. Waste goes to a 16-gallon holding tank with overboard discharge.

Fresh water is 51 gallons. On deck, 180-degree bow seating with backrests and storage boxes and a forward console double sun deck lounge carry the family half of the day.

The 400 LXF is the largest LXF that still reads as an owner-operated walkaround, with the 425 LXF, the 435 LXF Li-Ion, the 530 and the 670 above it. It sits in Scout's carbon band - the published laminate comparison puts the epoxy-infused carbon hybrid used from 37 feet up at approximately 1.7 lbs per square foot, against approximately 2.4 for the epoxy-infused E-glass of the 33-to-35-foot models.

Its real cross-shop is wider than the center console category. With a stand-up cabin, an enclosed shower, a generator and air conditioning aboard as delivered, the 400 LXF competes for buyers who would otherwise move to an express cruiser to get their family accommodated - and it does that without giving up the fish boxes, the baitwells or the walkaround deck. Scout also lists an upper helm flybridge as an option, which is unusual at this length.

Scout is family owned, has built in Summerville, South Carolina since 1989, and the 400 LXF is NMMA and Yacht Certified.

The 400 LXF is for the buyer who has been told the only way to get a real head, a shower and air conditioning is to give up the fishing boat. You do not have to. If your crew includes people who need somewhere comfortable to go when the run gets long, and you still want 92.5-gallon fish boxes and a walkaround deck, this is the hull that does both jobs.

It is a strong fit if your slip and lift take a 12'1" beam and 17,460 lbs, if 22 degrees of deadrise matches your water, and if you have decided on power. Quad Mercury 400 V10s are the faster boat by nearly nine mph; twin 600 V12s halve the engine count for 62.6 mph. Think hard about the saddle tanks - 57 gallons a side moves Scout's published estimate from 355 miles to 458.

It is the wrong boat if you want the simplest possible systems package - there is a diesel generator aboard with its own tank and service interval. Buyers who want that deleted should look at the 377 LXF, which runs its air conditioning off a lithium bank.