Despite Small Boat Lineage, the 350 Abaco Is Big on Features

You want a pocket-sized "yacht" that cruises like a cruiser, fishes like a sportfisher and treats you like a king? Check out Scout's flagship, the 350 Abaco.

Yeah, I know, you remember when Scout Boats only built pint-sized center consoles. You can recall crouching down behind that miniscule windshield, feeling gunwales that hit barely above your ankles, and an absence of any sort of creature comfort.

But Scout left those days behind as it grew the size of its line, first into the 20-foot range and now beyond with the 350 Abaco. In fact, with this new boat, Scout says not only good-bye but also good riddance to the old days.

The 350 Abaco comes with many standard features – including a generator, air conditioning, bow thruster and power-assisted steering – that other manufacturers confine to the options list. I might recommend a few upgrades, such as a larger livewell. But overall, there's precious little not to like.

CREATURE FEATURE

This boat is like a yacht below decks, with touches including a 26-inch TV, a carved glass Guy Harvey sailfish that's inset into the bulkhead, cherry veneers and zoned lighting. Three overhead hatches let in plenty of natural light. The sole is teak and holly – the real thing, mind you – and the dinette table is handcrafted cherry. A Sirius-ready stereo with CD player and MP3 jack will impress guests. The galley sports a microwave, coffee maker, two-burner electric stove and side-by-side under-counter refrigerator/freezers that are spacious and sturdy, with one caveat: The drop-in latches that hold them closed are destined to break before too long. To maintain the yacht-quality feeling, Scout should beef these up to aircraft-style locking latches.

When weekending or cruising, you'll appreciate the berths aplenty. There's a master forward, the dinette turns into a guest berth, and there's another sleeping spot carved out in the mid-cabin, located under the helm. This one has sitting headroom only, but there's plenty of room to stretch out. That means there's room for five adults to sleep aboard the 350, putting a vide variety of overnight cruising grounds into range.

The 350 Abaco belies its small-boat ancestry when it comes to mechanical systems, too. On most 35-footers, the 8-kilowatt Fisher Panda generator and a 21-gallon diesel tank would be optional, but here they're standard. Same goes for the 11-gallon hot-water heater; the five-bank/two-switch battery system; and especially the 6-horsepower bow thruster. But the icing on the cake is a 26,000-Btu air-conditioning system that cools both inside the cabin and the helm. Swing up the hatch to the machinery room, and note the access to the plumbing manifolds, genset, pumps, and batteries. Yes, it is as easy to get at these items as it is on much larger craft. And again, the machinery compartment finish reflects yacht-grade as opposed to mosquito fleet.

So, what Scout genes does the 350 Abaco carry? First and foremost, it maintains Scout's signature classic curves, without a hard corner or sharp edge in sight. Second, it embodies Scout's standard construction techniques, which include wood-free, hand-laid fiberglass hulls and decks; through-bolted stainless steel hardware; and composite stringers and transom. Voids below decks are foam-filled, which reduces the sound of water impacts, stiffens the boat, and ensures it will remain afloat no matter what. The motor bracket is molded in, not a bolted-on afterthought, and it is structurally integrated with the transom and two main longitudinal stringers. That means the stress of 700 kicking horses is evenly distributed throughout the boat, boosting overall strength and increasing longevity.

Even the systems are a grade above those found on most 30-something expresses. Check out the steering, for example, which is a hydraulic system made better with the addition of Teleflex power-assist. During our test of the 350 Abaco, one of the big surprises came when I first grabbed the stainless steel Edson finger-grip wheel (which felt good, not like one of those cheaper plastic steering wheels) and cranked it hard over to carve some S-turns. Thanks to the power-assist, the wheel took no more force to rotate than it would in a car.

The same above-grade presence can be felt at the helm when you adjust the trim tabs. Click the button, and the boat responds in a fraction of a second, because Scout uses Lenco's dual-ram electric tabs. And don't be concerned about forgetting to flatten the tabs after a run, causing your boat to lay over on one side when coming up on plane the next time. A trim tab LED indicator comes in this package, and every time you shut down the boat, the tabs auto-retract.

SHOCK AND AWESOME

Any unwanted yachty taste in your mouth will be washed away the moment you slam down the throttles and put those twin 350-horsepower Yamaha outboards to work. Performance is downright perky for a boat of this heft, with a 52.2-mph top end and a cruising speed of about 30. Whether you prefer running at 4000 rpm (29 mph) or 4500 (35.6 mph), you get around 1 mpg, which is a bit higher than average for a twin-outboard boat of this size and weight. It's worth noting that it was fairly choppy during my test. Yamaha tested the 350 in calmer conditions, and its published results were about 1 mph higher throughout the rpm range. The company recorded a best cruise at 4000 rpm while running at 30.4 mph and burning 27.3 gph, for 1.1 mpg.

What about emergency get-home power? When I tried tilting up one powerplant and firewalling the other, we reached 10 mph. That'll make for a long ride home, and some competitors in this size range can get into the mid- or even upper teens on a single engine. It's not too surprising when you consider the 350 Abaco weighs nearly seven tons, but you'll still want to bear the pace in mind if you experience motor troubles at sea.

Handling, however, shatters the big-boat image. When you swing the wheel hard over, the 350 Abaco responds like yesterday's little Scouts did, carving hair-pin turns without leaning on a gunwale. Now go from a dead stop to WOT, and see how the boat accelerates with minimal bow rise. Throw down the throttles and head for a series of waves – there were plenty of two- and three-footers washing around during our test run – and the 22-degree convex-designed hull takes 'em apart without a problem.

Dockside handling is also a breeze. Naturally you can oppose the outboards and make the boat spin, but the bow thruster makes it almost too easy to slide between the pilings. The helm is centered and raised, so while sitting at the wheel, you can see 360 degrees without obstructions. That seat is thickly padded and sports adjustable armrests and a huge, adjustable, stainless steel footrest. Our test boat had the "Electrical All Directional Adjustable Deluxe Helm Chair" version. In short, it's as comfy as an old-time barbershop chair and can be positioned however you like with the press of a button.

Other seats are worthy of praise, too. Scout uses two-tone tan and cream vinyls, and they're padded with extra-thick foam. Sitting on the port-side lounge or the starboard-side passenger's seat, you'll find plenty of comfort. Pay close attention when you check out that passenger's chair, though. See the hinged section to your right? Flip it up, and you have a hide-away table that pops out of the inwale.

Better than all of these creature comforts, though, this boat makes handling trouble easier. Scout clearly gives a nod to safety, given the dedicated safety-gear locker, a first-aid kit, dual bilge pumps, an integrated fire extinguisher, a high-water alarm system and a CO detector. My favorite safety feature, however, is the bow rail. All too often, boat builders mount low, sub-par rails to make it look more sleek. Sacrificing safety for style is never a good idea, and I was glad to find a tall, stout bow rail ringing the 350 from the cockpit to the integrated bow pulpit.

BITE'S ON

Don't you just hate it when a boat builder makes a cruiser, sticks some rod holders in the gunwales and calls it a "fishing boat" without another moment's thought? Me too. Thankfully, Scout is used to building serious fishboats, and it gave the 350 Abaco the teeth to grab some heavy grub.

A 24-quart digital-thermostat bait freezer fitted with a bait tray is to port in the cockpit; that will hold enough ballyhoo for several days worth of offshore trolling. The starboard side contains a lighted livewell fed by a 110-gph pump. While that pump has plenty of oomph to feed your livies a strong flow of raw water, the bait tank is only 15 gallons – pretty small for a 35-footer. It will force you to crowd your baits when you have a full crew of anglers aboard. Next to the livewell is a sink, and there are several tackle drawers underneath. Note to Scout: Serious anglers understand that you have to make a few trade-offs to make the boat a cruiser as well as a sportfisherman, but many of us may rather have a larger livewell and a smaller sink and drawers.

All of the compartment hatches are gasketed, and all rise on gas-assist struts. I tried filling the livewell, then charging a few waves during our test to see if water sloshed out, an annoying problem live-baiters often endure. No dice – these gaskets are tight, and the deck stayed dry. Of course, sometimes you'll need to get that deck wet to sluice away fish scales and slime – and Scout includes standard fresh- and raw-water washdowns in the cockpit. But they're the threaded variety, which most high-end builders have ditched in favor of quick-disconnect fittings. Upgrading them would be a good move.

The big surprise fishing feature is in the hardtop: two huge teaser reels, color coordinated and inset. You generally only see these on big convertibles, which would be considered yachts. Then again, maybe the 350 Abaco is redefining what that is.

Lenny Rudow was senior technical editor for Boating magazine for more than 10 years, and is currently the electronics editor for Marlin and GoBoating magazines.

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