Scout Boats has long stood as a beacon of American craftsmanship, performance, and attention to detail. Founded in 1989 by Steve Potts and still operated by the Potts family today, Scout builds vessels that aren’t just made to perform—they’re made to last, shine, and stand out. From their unmatched fit and finish to their high-performance capabilities, Scout boats are renowned throughout the industry.

So when it comes to maintaining the same standards below deck, Scout turned to Arid Bilge Systems.

In this testimonial, we caught up with Josh Slayton of Scout Boats to hear about his personal experience with Arid Bilge and how it enhances the Scout boating experience—helping protect the vessel’s value, equipment, and owner satisfaction.

Transcript: Onboard With Scout Boats

Alfred:
Josh Slayton is going to go ahead and tell us a little about his personal experience, a little bit of the company history, how they’ve been in business for so long—and you get, obviously, the high quality and keen detail on all these boats. They are sharp, they are beautiful, and they last for a long time.

We’re an American-made system, keeping that boating experience nice, fresh, and clean. Josh?

Josh:
Yeah, thanks Alfred. Appreciate the opportunity.

Scout is a family-run business. It was founded in 1989 by Steve Potts, and from then until now, it is still owned and operated by the Potts family. Whether you’re talking about Steve Potts, his son, his two daughters, his son-in-law, his other son-in-law—they’re all part of the family-run company.

Originally founded with high fit and finish, high performance, and high styling. And with the fit and finish, we really appreciate the opportunity to have partnered with Arid Bilge to help enhance that feature of the Scout boats—the fit and finish.

Alfred:
It’s not easy producing a boat, and with the Arid Bilge System, we go ahead and keep that boating experience fresh and clean, just like it came out from the box.

That’s what the Arid Bilge System does. It gets rid of your odor, it gets rid of your mold, it gets rid of your corrosion—the rust, potentially, as well. All that stuff gets sucked out at the source, as opposed to just sitting down there.

We suck it out. A bilge pump doesn’t have to run anymore—only for the emergency. That’s what the Arid Bilge System does, and that’s what the Arid Bilge System experience is. We just vacuum it up and throw it overboard.

Josh:
Right now, our largest boat in the fleet—soon to be 67′ in the fleet—both of those are wet bilges because they have seacocks and sea strainers in them.

And in both of those sections, we utilize the two-ported Arid Bilge System.

Alfred:
So the Arid Bilge System sits in the lazarette of that boat right over there, and it goes and vacuums the fluid from that zone and the cabin zone—is that correct?

Josh:
Yeah, both zones get vacuumed together into the collection box, and then discharged overboard once the collection box is full.

Alfred:
So the Arid Bilge System sits on the aft of your boat. You’ve got some expensive equipment down there. You’ve got your generator, you’ve got your gyro, and just everything in the local environment.

Josh:
Yeah, your ice machines.

Alfred:
So you like to go and see the boat having a nice, dry, clean experience—because as opposed to that water sitting down there, it’s just causing a little bit of mold.

Josh:
Oh, it’s fantastic. And particularly on our quality of boats, we get a lot of boats as tenders to yachts. The crew are responsible for cleaning the top deck, but are actually responsible for also washing and cleaning the bilge areas.

So when they do wash and clean the bilge areas, the bilge pump itself leaves a little bit of water at the bottom that it can’t suck out—but the Arid Bilge is utilized perfectly in that situation to completely dry it out.

Alfred:
Yeah. Thank you so much for your testimonial. Appreciate having business with you.

Josh:
Yeah. Thanks, Alfred.

Alfred:
Thank you.

The Scout Experience, Enhanced by Arid Bilge

Scout Boats are engineered for excellence above and below deck—and Arid Bilge Systems help protect that quality by ensuring bilges stay dry, fresh, and protected.

From removing odor and corrosion to reducing mold, rust, and component failure, our system is quietly working in the background to preserve every vessel’s value and performance. With OEM partnerships across dozens of top boat builders, Scout’s endorsement is a testament to the reliability and effectiveness of Arid Bilge.

Together, we help ensure “Dry. Fresh. Protected.” isn’t just a slogan—it’s the new standard.

📺 Watch the Full Scout Boats x Arid Bilge Testimonial
🔗 Watch on YouTube