Scout’s latest, the 400 LXF fills out the company’s line of center-console yachts with another luxury fishing vessel.
State-of-the-art design and construction include carbon fiber and E-glass for the highest possible strength-to-weight ratio. An automotive-rated Class A gelcoat finish shines. The stepped 22-degree deadrise V-hull and a setback transom are built for dual Mercury Verado V-12 600 hp outboards. Acceleration is quick (8.6 seconds to 30 mph), and top speed is fast (59 mph at 6,300 rpm turning counter-rotating 29-pitch Mercury Verado stainless-steel propellers). The 400 LXF has a 395-gallon fuel tank under the sole. At the most economical cruise speed of 37 mph, it has a range of over 282 miles with 10 percent left in reserve.
Big seas are handled with confidence and efficiency. The 400 LXF carves, turns and slices through big chop with solid feedback and precision. At the helm, you’re comfortably supported by the triple heated captain’s helm seats. Engine data is right on the dual Garmin screens flush-mounted in the dash, shielded from the overhead sun by a custom hardtop with a curved safety-glass enclosure. Your crew in the bow catches the sun while relaxing on the U-shaped contoured seating or the double-wide forward-facing reclined lounge seats. Of course, there’s ample stowage underneath, with recessed pockets and chargers for everyone’s e-toys and shades.
The cabin inside the center console is surprisingly spacious, fitted with a 12,000 Btu air conditioner, a glass cooktop, a flat-screen TV, a 6-foot-5-inch V-berth, an enclosed bathroom with a toilet, shower and sink, a 16-gallon waste tank, plenty of storage underneath, and a vertical rod-storage unit.
A raised aft-facing lounge seat resides in the leaning post. An ice maker and refrigerator keep things cool. Boarding access is easy through port and starboard acrylic transom-access doors, with a full transom walk-through platform and an Armstrong dive ladder. Port and starboard 92-gallon in-floor fish boxes are emptied by pumps, and twin port and starboard aerated baitwells each carry 33 gallons of circulating water.
High Points
- Plenty of high-quality rod holders at the transom, on and under the gunwales, and in the hardtop.
- Optional color night-vision cameras ease night navigation.
- Stringers are customized for an optional Seakeeper 4.5.
How We Tested
- Engines: Twin Mercury Verado 600 V-12 FourStrokes
- Drive/Prop: Outboard/Mercury Verado 12 16.76″ x 29″ LH 4-blade stainless steel (front); 15.25″ x 29″ RH 3-blade stainless steel (rear)
- Gear Ratio: 2.50:1 (final drive ratio; two-speed transmission) Fuel Load: 300 gal. Crew Weight: 675 lb.
Pricing and Specs
| Price: | $1,402,713 (as tested); $1,084,212 (base) |
| LOA: | 39’5″ |
| Beam: | 12’1″ |
| Draft: | 2’3″ |
| Dry Weight: | 14,940 lb. (without engines); 17,460 (with twin Mercury 600) |
| Seat/Weight Capacity: | NA |
| Fuel Capacity: | 395 gal. |
