Regal 38 XO Review, and How It Compares With the Regal 38 Surf and 38 SAV

One 38 foot length, five very different Regals

Regal, the family-owned builder in Orlando, Florida, has built an unusual number of boats around the same 38 to 39 foot size. Buyers searching for a Regal 38 Surf, a 38 SAV or a Regal 38 XO are often comparing boats with completely different purposes. The 38 XO is the crossover: a sport yacht with an enclosed, glass-walled upper saloon and two cabins below, powered by triple outboards rather than the sterndrives of the boat it came from.

The Regal 38 Surf is a wake-surf bowrider, the 38 SAV is an open outboard sport activity vessel with a cabin, the 38 Grande Coupe is the sterndrive version of the XO, and the 38 FXO adds a flybridge. Knowing which family member suits your boating is the first step, and we compare them in detail further down this page.

This page focuses on the 38 XO, which BoatTest described as a new class in Regal's fleet, bridging its larger sterndrive sport cruisers and its nimble outboard boats. It is a boat for couples and families who want to overnight in comfort, cruise along the coast and still pull up to a beach.

Born from the 38 Grande Coupe

The 38 XO is a conversion of Regal's 38 Grande Coupe, a twin sterndrive sport yacht. Both use the same hull, which Regal calls its OceanTrac V-bottom, with 18 degrees of deadrise at the transom, and the XO is resin-infused over closed-cell foam in its own tooling.

Moving the power outboard changed several things. The fuel tank grew to 350 gallons in the boat BoatTest tested, and Regal now lists 360 gallons, against 260 for the Grande Coupe. The former engine room became a machinery and storage space accessible from the swim platform, housing the generator (a 9.5 kW gas Westerbeke on the test boat, while Regal's current specification lists a separate 28 gallon diesel tank for the generator) and the optional Seakeeper 3. And the draft with the motors up dropped to about 24 to 26 inches, which opens up beaches and shallow anchorages that a sterndrive boat would avoid.

An upper saloon that opens to the cockpit

The main deck is where the XO earns its name. A sliding glass door 32 inches wide separates the cockpit from an upper saloon under a hardtop with an electric sunroof, with panoramic windows and a single-level sole running through. The galley sits aft in the saloon, and its aft glass panel retracts into the lower cabinetry so the cook can pass food and drinks straight into the cockpit.

Forward of the galley to port is a raised saloon table, opposite the helm to starboard. Outside, the cockpit has L-shaped seating with a teak table, a grill station and refreshment center, and the foredeck carries an 80 by 59 inch multiposition sunpad. The wraparound swim platform has wings that flank the outboards, so swimmers have somewhere to stand on either side of the engines.

BoatTest noted one practical weakness. Forward visibility when turning to port is restricted unless the sunroof is open, so take a moment to learn the sightlines before docking in a tight marina.

Two real cabins and a split head

Four steps lead down to a passageway with the toilet compartment to starboard and a full-size shower to port. Headroom below is 6 feet 3 inches. Regal treats the forward cabin as the master, with an island berth, because a privacy door turns the toilet and shower into an en suite for that cabin.

The midship cabin has a convertible berth that makes a king or twin singles, and BoatTest thought some owners would choose this roomy midship cabin as the master. Either way, two couples can sleep in separate, closing cabins, something none of the 38 to 40 foot outboard bowriders can offer. That is the main reason to choose the XO over a Sea Ray SLX 400 or Cruisers 38 GLS.

Triple Yamaha F300 numbers and handling

BoatTest ran a 38 XO with triple Yamaha F300s on 17 inch pitch Saltwater Series II propellers, at about 19,970 pounds with three people, two thirds fuel and no water, on a calm day. Top speed was 49.2 mph, or 42.7 knots, at 5,800 rpm burning 79.8 gph. The boat planed in 4.7 seconds and reached 30 mph in 10.7 seconds, with 10.5 degrees of bow rise.

Best economy came at 4,000 rpm, 27.1 knots on 36.7 gph, for a range of about 233 nautical miles with a 10 percent reserve. At 4,500 rpm it ran 30.2 knots with nearly identical range. On a later BoatTest overnight trip to the Florida Keys aboard the 38 XO and 36 XO, the captain reported cruising at about 36 mph at 4,500 rpm.

Handling was described as agile and responsive, with minimal hull slap crossing wakes at full speed. The boat heeled about 19 degrees in hard turns and lost 4 to 5 mph. Calm conditions meant the test did not explore rough water behavior, and the 18 degree deadrise is a little flatter than the 21 degree deep-Vs from Sea Ray, so expect a firmer ride in a steep chop.

The joystick, the tie-bar and the old engine room

Docking on the test boat was handled by an optional joystick system, which BoatTest found well dialed in. The center and starboard engines were linked by a tie-bar, so the three motors behaved like two for joystick purposes, and small movements of the stick slid the boat sideways into the dock. Later boats seen on BoatTest's 2025 Keys trip paired the joystick with Garmin autopilot and heading hold.

The helm carries the engine controls, VHF, the Seakeeper control panel and the joystick, with Garmin radar on the options list. The machinery space under the cockpit holds the fuel tank, generator and optional gyro, and has extra storage that the sterndrive boat lacks. If you buy used, look for a boat with the Seakeeper already fitted, because retrofitting one is expensive.

Regal 38 XO, 38 SAV, 38 Surf, Grande Coupe or FXO

All five boats share an 11 foot 11 inch beam and similar length, but they serve different owners. Here is how they line up, using Regal's current figures.

• 38 XO: 39 ft 3 in, 22,000 lb, 360 gal, triple Yamaha F300 or F350, enclosed upper saloon and two cabins
• 38 SAV: 39 ft 3 in, 18,800 lb, 340 gal, triple Yamaha F300, F350 or Mercury V10 400 outboards, open bowrider-style deck with forward and mid cabins
• 38 Surf: 39 ft 2 in, 19,400 lb, 249 gal, twin Volvo Penta Forward Drive V8s from 380 to 430 hp, built for wake surfing
• 38 Grande Coupe: 38 ft 1 in, 21,200 lb, 260 gal, twin Volvo Penta V8 sterndrives or D4-300 diesels, the XO's sterndrive twin
• 38 FXO: 39 ft 3 in, 22,000 lb, 360 gal, triple Yamaha F300, adds a flybridge with a second helm

Regal 38 XO running costs and resale

Expect $35,000 to $65,000 a year before depreciation. At about 37 gph at a 27 knot cruise, fuel is the largest item for active owners, followed by insurance, slip, three sets of outboard service and gyro maintenance. Regal's warranty and Yamaha's large service network help keep repair costs predictable.

Used 38 XOs from 2019 and 2020 start around the high $300,000s. Late boats with F350s, Seakeeper and full options trade in the $700,000s and up.