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Scarab 195 HO Impulse

The 195 HO Impulse features nimble handling and vibrant styling.

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

LOA: 18’10”
Beam: 8’0″
Draft (max): 1’0″
Displacement (approx.): 2,600 lb.
Transom Deadrise: 20 degrees
Bridge Clearance: 7’0″
Fuel Capacity: 31 gal.
Max Horsepower: 250
Available Power: Single Rotax jet engine to 250 hp
More Information: scarabboats.com

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

Scarab 195 HO Impulse

The Scarab name is legendary in the annals of performance boat history — when one was featured in the opening credits of the 1980s television hit Miami Vice, it became one of the most recognized boats in the world. The new Scarab 195 HO Impulse shares the name and vibrant styling of its namesake, but it also has roots in Sea-Doo’s discontinued line of jet boats. The merging of ideas is evident in this sexy boat that’s a trip to drive.

The Bombardier Recreational Products lineage is more obvious due to the Rotax 1503 4-TEC jet engine. The Impulse carries the three-cylinder, supercharged, intercooled jet rated at 250 hp. With it, we recorded a top speed of 43.7 mph on test day. While that’s 20 mph shy of Sonny Crockett’s Scarab 38 KV, the new Impulse shines out of the hole, climbing onto plane in four seconds and hitting 30 mph in just over six seconds. And the cornering and lock-to-lock handling at speed is hard to beat.

The Impulse also owes that nimble handling to its BRP roots, with a T-shaped running surface based on Sea-Doo designs. It features deep channels on either side of the keel, which drops deeper and flares wider aft to employ more wetted surface at speed. The result is better tracking and improved stability. It can also handle the type of rough bay chop we experienced on test day.

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The Impulse sports a powder-coated aluminum sport tower that can be manually lowered to clear bridges. It’s a forward swept tower, which moves the tow point to the center of the boat and prevents boarders from pulling out the transom, a common problem for jet boats.

The cockpit has an innovative U-shaped seating arrangement, featuring notches on the transom bench that create enough legroom for four to sit comfortably. The backrests flip down for a sun pad on top of the engine compartment. Lift the hatch to find additional storage space in the engine compartment, a benefit of the compact small-block engine. The twin bucket seats in front of the consoles have flip-up bolsters. Access to the stereo is inside the port-console glove box, which is huge for a 19-foot runabout. Walk forward through the stylish windshield, and the squared-off bow allows for more relaxation room up front than found on a typical 19-footer.

Comparable model: Yamaha AR192

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