Scout 420
Fold-down teak beaches and terraces have become a standard feature on mega-yachts, but Scout Boats might be the first to install a foldout beach platform on a 42-footer. Stevie Potts, son of Scout founder Steve Potts, seized on the idea several years ago when he saw a Lazzara 92 with a side balcony. The side-platform application would be ideal for outboard-powered boats, Stevie thought, since it would free up transom space.
Scout 420 Beach Platform
The Scout 420 LXF’s beach platform turned into a home run for the builder. All 420s currently under build have this option. (It will soon be offered on the builder’s upcoming 380 LXF too.) “I played with the drawings for four years,” Stevie Potts says. “My father wasn’t buying into the idea at first, so I ended up hand-building the prototype. We put a lot of engineering into it to make it work. In fact, we overbuilt it for structural integrity.”
RIGHT STUFF
Like the 420 LXF’s hull, the beach-platform section is vacuum-infused, foam-filled and wrapped in carbon fiber. “I wanted a stiff, lightweight platform that could withstand the bump of another boat or waves crashing down on it,” says Scout’s Stevie Potts. “We chose hydraulic lifts because they work well in salt water and offer a manual bypass.” The teak-covered platform also has a boarding ladder, handgrips and drink holders.
The platform is arguably the crown jewel of the 420 LXF, which also has a touch-screen helm, double-stepped hull and quad 350 hp outboards that deliver a top speed of 57 knots. The 6-foot-6-inch-long teak platform offers safe, convenient water access.
“It eliminates a traditional swim platform,” Steve Potts says. “But the owner can still access the water for swimming, diving and watersports.
