Scout slots the 231 XSS into the middle of its bay boat range, between the compact 177 and the 261, and it is the model most buyers in the line settle on. Twenty-three feet two inches on an 8 foot 6 inch beam gives a boat that will run offshore on a calm day and still slip into 14 inches of water on the flats.
The layout is the argument. Up to five removable backrests drop into receivers, two forward and three aft, so the same boat converts from a casting platform to family seating in about a minute. A patent-pending thru-hull bow anchor pole, which Scout calls the Scout Post, stows out of the way rather than cluttering the foredeck. Two aft baitwells, three leaning post configurations and fiberglass Power-Pole blades are available, and rod holders and dry storage are worked into surfaces that would otherwise go to waste.
Underneath, the hull carries 14 degrees of deadrise and is rated to 400 horsepower on a single outboard. Sixty-five gallons of fuel give Scout’s quoted 214 mile range on a 300. Dry weight without an engine is 2,800 pounds, so a half-ton truck tows it, and capacity is eight people.
Built in Summerville, South Carolina, the 231 XSS sits against far plainer inshore boats on price and is finished to the standard Scout applies to its 40 foot models. For a buyer who fishes shallow but wants a real boat, it is the sensible size.
