Something Truly Special

A closer look at the Scout 275 LXF

September 2020 Feature Heather Magda Serrano

“I fell in love with it,” shared Jamie Doss. “The style and lines are beautiful, the fit and finish are amazing, and the ride quality is smooth.”

As an ardent boater on Lake Michigan, Doss felt like the Scout 275 LXF was the perfect fit for him and his wife Megan along with their 10- and 5-year-old sons. The family lives in Spring Lake, Mich., which connects to the Grand River that feeds into Lake Michigan, and they try to get as much time out on the water as possible in the warmer months of summer.

A Boat For Everyone

Before Doss bought the boat, he knew he wanted a center console since he’d had one before from another manufacturer and he enjoyed the layout. He also knew he wanted something family-friendly because of his young children. A couple of the first things he noticed when he first clapped eyes on the 275 LXF was the boat’s center console and the generous freeboard which is ideal for his kids.

“A lot of newer boats feel like they cut the freeboard down in the bow area,” explained Doss, “whereas this has a lot of bow flair and a lot of freeboard, so you feel like you’re in the boat and not on a PWC or something. The kids love it.”

Doss looked at around seven other manufacturers while he was shopping for his perfect vessel, but he consistently felt himself gravitate toward the Scout 275 LXF. In the end, Doss decided and bought the boat last year in the early spring and proceeded to spend as much time as he could on the water with his family.

Even Scout Boats’ director of sales and marketing, Alan Lang, has fallen in love with this particular boat, owning one himself.

“I’ve had a 275 LXF for probably five years now,” admitted Lang. “I’ve had three of them. My family loves it and we have a great time on it.”

It doesn’t take any sort of mental gymnastics to figure that the 275 LXF is something truly special since it’s both Lang’s and Doss’s consistent choice for their ideal vessel.

Quality Construction

Scout Boats does everything in its power to make sure every boat built is made with the utmost care and attention to detail. For this reason, the 275 LXF is 100 percent hand-laid with fiberglass construction, making it structurally strong and sound.

“Building it with a hundred percent hand-laid fiberglass also takes out some of the excess weight,” described Lang, “so the performance on it is really good as well.”

Every aspect of the coastal sportfishing vessel radiates luxury, from the details in the upholstery to the richness in the accents. Doss could not get over how gorgeous the boat is.

“The fit and finish is some of the best we’d looked at on the market,” attested Doss.

Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it also boasts functionality. Starting from the bow, you’ll find a comfortably recessed anchor in the hull with a windlass that can be operated using foot pedals.

There’s a wealth of room in the bow which includes some convenient seating in front of the console, and there’s also plenty of storage in those front seats that’s good for fenders, lifejackets, beach bags, or whatever else you usually like to take out with you on a day of boating. Additionally, you can store bigger items in the large storage compartment in the floor.

Delightful Details

In the helm area, the powder-coated hard top comes standard with a tempered glass enclosure which protects you from the wind, making for a nice, calm day on the water. Then, in the center of the boat inside the console, you’ve got a large area with a porcelain head. It’s completely private with a locking door.

The captain of the 275 LXF will get to enjoy a very comfortable hydraulic steering wheel with tilt, LED indicators, a FUSION stereo head unit and an electronic door that lowers to keep your electronics safe. The helm also unlocks at the top by key and folds back so you can easily access the panel, the switches and the electronics.

Additionally, the seats in the helm are quite innovative because you can use them as leaning posts or pull them out so they’re flat like regular seats. They’re also independent of each other so if the driver wants to sit down and the passenger wants to stand or vice versa, it’ll work out for both of them. No compromise necessary.

Unforgettable Features

On the back of the console, you’ve got a variety of rod holders, cupholders, a little cooler and a stainless steel sink with fresh water that can also be used as a shower in the back of the boat.

“The upgraded fiberglass leaning post has a wet bar and that’s great for entertaining guests,” added Lang, “having the ability to carry food or drinks, or even the ability to put a grill on the back.”

Obviously Lang is speaking from experience, having entertained countless guests on his 275 LXF for the past five years.

There are also the rocket launchers up top, built into the hardtop with LED lights and four FUSION speakers. The layout is incredibly comfortable in the back of the boat and features stainless steel storage doors too.

In the floor, there are also two large fish boxes with diaphragm overboard discharges. Then on the starboard side, you can get an optional refrigerator or you can stick with the standard that gives you a trashcan that folds out, which would come in handy. The 275 LXF also features two very large livewells in the back for all your fishing needs and a dive ladder off the back of the starboard swim platform.

Something else you’ll want to note is that the wave gate door can be folded down to the floor which makes walking through the back of the boat to the swim platform ridiculously easy. You can also fold it up, lock it in place, slide the backrest up, slide the stern seat out and then put the backrest back down which transitions it into a lovely stern seat in the back of the boat. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.

Brilliant Brand

One of Doss’s favorite things to do is just cruise along Lake Michigan in nice weather while his kids fall asleep to the gentle rhythm of his boat and the lake. In fact, they boat on Lake Michigan so often and they loved their 275 LXF so much that they decided to upgrade to a larger Scout boat. When they decided to go bigger, they had a pretty good idea of what they wanted: something pretty much the same, but a bit bigger.

“It wasn’t a question of what brand we were going to pick at that point in time,” said Doss. “We knew we were going to pick Scout. It was just a matter of picking out colors and options.”

The Doss family now owns a 355 LXF which is essentially the same boat as the 275, just a bit larger. It’s little wonder the family has become brand loyal to Scout Boats since they had such an exemplary experience with their 275 LXF.

“What we’ve found is that it’s just an all-around great boat,” smiled Doss. “It fit the family needs for everything. The kids could fish off of it, we would swim off of it, and it fit everything we had on our checklist.”

Specifications

Length: 27’ 6”

Beam: 9’

Dry Weight w/out Engines: 5,300 lbs.

Fuel Capacity: 164 gals.

Fresh Water Capacity: 15 gals.

Holding Tank Capacity: 9.5 gals.

Deadrise: 22 degrees

Max Horsepower: 400 hp

Draft (Approximate): 19”

Bridge Clearance (approximate to T-Top): 8’

Transom Baitwell: 20 gals.