Scarab 255

If you watched any television in the ’80s, you probably remember Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs blasting around Miami in a 38-foot Wellcraft Scarab KV.

For years to come, the Scarab name was synonymous with speed and racy looks. That go-fast race-boat style changed a handful of years ago when the Scarab brand was transformed into a line of high-performance jet boats. Luckily, they share a lot of the original Scarab’s high-performance DNA. Covered here is the largest jet boat in the company’s lineup, the Scarab 255.

The 255 is available in several different trim levels, including the luxurious Platinum, speedy H.O. and water sports-focused Impulse models. But even the base Scarab 255 is built for thrills, equipped with a pair of 150-hp, 1.5-liter Rotax 4-TEC four-stroke engines that can propel the 255 up to around 45 mph. Those who want to feel the skin stretch across their faces can opt for the 255 H.O. or the 255 H.O. Impulse models, available with either twin 200-hp or twin 250-hp Rotax power plants, producing top speeds in the low- to mid-50s.

Hop aboard the 255 and you’ll find tons of seating space and clever stowage. Back at the stern is a large wet stowage area hidden in the swim platform beneath two hinged locker doors. More gear can be stowed farther forward in not just one, but two huge lockers beneath the cockpit deck. The 255’s seating is very versatile as well. There’s a pair of convertible lounges in the stern that can face forward or aft thanks to swinging seatbacks, and the remaining cockpit seats can be transformed into a wraparound cockpit lounge using flip-up seat fillers that stow neatly away when not in use. It’s all a very nifty way to make a single seating area suitable for multiple uses. Seating forward in the bow is also plentiful and can be tranformed into a comfortable sunpad with seat fillers. The bow reboarding ladder is a convenient feature.   
   

Scarab’s Doyle VanderPol says, “This is one of the largest jet boats on the market providing great performance and model offerings to fit today’s boaters’ needs, from the runabout, to the Platinum Luxury style, to the water sports enthusiast Impulse models.”