The 261 XSS is the crossover in Scout’s bay boat range: 26 feet of hull that fishes the flats in 17 inches of water and still carries the deadrise and the fuel to cross open water when the weather allows. Scout builds it in Summerville, South Carolina, and the specification reads closer to the yard’s larger offshore boats than to an inshore skiff.
Fishability drives the layout. Casting decks run fore and aft, the port and starboard baitwells are aerated, the console carries a coffin box, and rod storage is spread through the boat rather than concentrated in one rack. Standard equipment includes an integrated exposed carbon fiber T-top with fully enclosed windshields, a Fusion Bluetooth stereo with six JL Audio speakers, and a removable transom ladder with a built-in synthetic decking step.
The option list is where a buyer shapes the boat: two upgraded leaning post configurations, a bow casting platform with filler cushion, underwater lights, hardtop rocket launchers, raw and fresh water washdowns, outriggers, Power-Poles, a trolling motor and a porcelain head. The carbon fiber hardtop legs can be left exposed or finished in Scout white.
A single outboard drives it, with the Mercury Verado 350 V10 behind Scout’s own 292 mile range figure and the Verado 400 V10 also documented. Fifteen degrees of deadrise, 90 gallons of fuel and a 4,429 pound dry weight put the 261 XSS in useful territory for a buyer who refuses to choose between inshore and offshore.
Length
7.9M
Beam
2.6M
Draft
0.4M
Day Guests
Sleeping
Cabin
Cruise Speed
Max Speed
Fuel
341L
Range
292NM
Engine
1 x Mercury Verado 350 V10
Option 1
1 x Mercury Verado 400 V10
New Starting From
€189,260
No yachts found matching your criteria.
She crosses from idle to sixty miles an hour with the kind of urgency few 26 foot boats carry.
The optional Mercury Verado 400 V10 is the engine behind that number, reaching a top speed close to 60 mph and planing in about seven seconds, with zero to thirty mph covered in roughly eleven. A double stepped hull and a set back transom place the gearcase in cleaner water, letting it sit higher for less drag and a steadier top end. Fifteen degrees of deadrise at the transom cuts through chop on the run out, while a shallow 0.4 metre draught keeps the flats open on the way home. Scout quotes 292 nautical miles of range on 341 litres of fuel, enough for a full day offshore and still water in the tank for the inshore leg back.
Her hull does more than most 26 footers ask of a laminate.
Vacuum epoxy infused layup wraps closed cell foam through the hull and deck, a no wood construction that trims weight, adds flotation and deadens sound at once. The hull itself is double stepped, with a set back transom that places the gearcase in cleaner water: mounted higher, it trims drag and sharpens the top end. Fifteen degrees of deadrise at the transom absorbs the chop offshore, while a draught of just 0.4 metres lets her sit over structure other boats in her class cannot reach. Ninety gallons, or 341 litres, of fuel feed the single outboard, and Scout’s own figures put her range at 292 nautical miles, enough to run well offshore and still have fuel for the flats on the way in.
She looks fast standing still.
A tumblehome sheerline and reverse angle transom give the 261 XSS a lean, low profile that reads sporty even at trolling speed. The console and T top are built from fibreglass, carbon fibre and epoxy, with a fully enclosed, automotive grade acrylic windshield bedded into the frame. Finish runs to an automotive rated Class A gelcoat, and SeaDek nonskid, available in a choice of colours, covers the full deck rather than just the high traffic zones. Buyers can leave the carbon fibre hardtop legs exposed or have them finished in Scout white, a small but visible choice that changes how she reads at the dock.
Every surface on the 261 XSS has a job to do.
Raised casting decks run fore and aft, backed by an aerated livewell at the leaning post and two further livewells beneath the stern seats, which fold flat to open a three wide bench when the rods are stowed. The console carries a gasketed storage box on stainless hinges, a freshwater sink, cutting board and tackle drawers, and a porcelain head sits in an open space on the port side inside. At the helm, a flat screen glass dash runs a 24 inch Garmin display for navigation, sonar and digital switching, alongside Power Pole controls for the shallow water anchor and a wireless charging pad built into the leaning post. A removable transom ladder and synthetic decking step complete the transom.
At just over 189,000, the 261 XSS prices herself against boats built for only one kind of fishing.
She measures 7.9 metres overall on a 2.6 metre beam, drawing 0.4 metres and displacing around 2,009 kilograms dry. The standard Mercury Verado 350 V10 can be upgraded to the 400 V10 fitted to Scout’s own test boat, which reached close to 60 mph. A Bob’s Machine Shop hydraulic jack plate comes standard, built for the shallow running this hull is designed around. For an owner who wants one boat that fishes the backcountry on Saturday morning and runs offshore on Saturday afternoon, the 261 XSS removes the usual trade off between the two.
Tell us what you would like to know, and our team will respond with clear details on availability, specification, pricing and next steps.
