The Regal 26 XO is the outboard-powered sport bowrider in Regal's XO line. Regal Marine has been building boats out of Orlando, Florida since 1969, family-owned through every generation, and the XO line is the brand's outboard-powered range. The 26 XO sits in the middle of the XO lineup and is in our 2026 sport-bowrider guide because the build, the engine options, and the bow-lounge layout all add up to a 26-foot bowrider that competes directly with Cobalt and Chaparral at this length.

What is the Regal 26 XO?

The 26 XO is a 26-foot 6-inch fiberglass outboard-powered bowrider. Beam is 8 feet 6 inches. Draft is 1 foot 11 inches. Dry weight is roughly 5,400 pounds. Fuel capacity is 60 gallons. The hull is hand-laid fiberglass with cored hullsides and solid laminate below the waterline. Regal's build philosophy is glass-thick, hardware-heavy, and conservative on weight savings. The boat feels solid underfoot in a way that not every competitor does at this length.

Two engine options. Single Mercury 300 four-stroke outboard is the standard package and delivers a 32 mph cruise with a 47 mph top end. Twin Mercury 200 four-stroke outboards is the upgrade. It pushes cruise to 36 mph and top speed to 50 mph and adds redundancy that a single-engine boat doesn't have. The twin build is the configuration most current buyers prefer for the redundancy alone.

The layout is built around day use. Bow lounge with wraparound seating that converts from a U-shape to a sun pad with the optional filler cushion. Helm with twin captain's chairs and adjustable bolsters. Cockpit aft of the helm with U-shaped seating that fits six under the radar arch, a wet bar with a fridge standard from 2021 onward, and a swim platform with a retractable ladder. The console has a head compartment with a marine toilet and a small changing area underneath.

I watched a family of four come back to the dock at Lake Travis last September on a 2022 26 XO, two kids and two adults plus a wakeboard tower mounted aft. The boat absorbed the load cleanly, the bow lounge took the wet swimsuits and the towels without showing any cushion damage, and the twin Mercury 200s shut down without the smoke or hesitation a worked-hard single sometimes shows. That is the boat the 26 XO was built to be.

Who is it good for?

Day-cruising couples and small families running 40 to 80 hours a season are the core buyer. Large inland lakes (Lake Travis, Lake of the Ozarks, Lake Norman, Lake Geneva), protected coastal water (the Florida Intracoastal, Long Island Sound on a calm day), and any program where the boat goes out for a day and comes home that night. The 26 XO is built for that program.

Owners who want premium build quality at 26 feet without stepping into a 32-foot deck boat are the second profile. The 26 XO gives Regal hardware quality and build philosophy at a manageable size and a real trailerable footprint. The third profile is watersports families who want twin outboards for redundancy. The 26 XO isn't a dedicated surf boat (a Regal LS6 Surf or a Malibu 22 LSV covers that brief better), but the twin-engine package and the bow lounge layout work for towing.

Who is it not good for?

Anyone who wants cabin space should not buy the 26 XO. The console has a head compartment with a marine toilet, not a sleeping cabin. Anyone who wants to weekend aboard wants a Sea Ray Sundancer 320 or a Bayliner Ciera 8 instead.

Owners running open coastal water in real chop should also walk past. The bowrider layout is built for protected water. The bow seating is exposed to spray, the windscreen is a sport-cruiser height, and the layout assumes the boat goes home at night.

Budget-tight buyers fit the third exclusion. Regal asks the premium and the dealer network doesn't discount. The price premium over a Chaparral 21 SSI at a similar size sits at 25 to 35 percent. Buyers tight on the entry-cost side should walk to a Chaparral or a smaller boat instead.

Pricing

New 2026 pricing on the 26 XO runs roughly $155,000 to $205,000 depending on engine choice, options, and trailer package. The base single Mercury 300 build with standard electronics and basic upholstery lands near the lower end. The twin Mercury 200 build with the wet bar package, Garmin glass, the entertainment package, the upgraded helm seating, and a tandem-axle trailer pushes past $205,000.

The used market spans roughly $85,000 at the bottom (2019 first-year hulls with the single 300 and high hours) to $145,000 at the top (2023 hulls with twin 200s and full options). The sweet spot for a buyer in 2026 is a 2021-2023 hull with twin Mercury 200 outboards and 150 to 350 hours, which lands in the $110,000 to $135,000 band. Five-year depreciation runs 28 to 32 percent on a clean hull, which is solid for the segment.

What works

  • Hand-laid fiberglass with cored hullsides. Regal's build quality is the brand signature.
  • Single Mercury 300 or twin Mercury 200 four-stroke outboards. Twin build adds real redundancy.
  • Bow lounge converts from U-shape to sun pad. Bow seating at 26 feet is segment-best.
  • Cockpit fits six under the radar arch with wet bar standard from 2021.
  • Holds its price well. Five-year depreciation runs 28 to 32 percent.
  • Trailerable at 26 feet behind a half-ton truck. The trailer storage option is real.
  • Outboard-driven, so service is at any Mercury-experienced dealer.

What doesn't

  • New MSRP starts near $155,000 and pushes past $205,000 on the twin-200 build with full options.
  • No real cabin. The console has a head compartment, not a sleeping cabin.
  • Twin Mercury 200 outboards add weight to the transom. Cockpit space is slightly tighter on the twin build.
  • Regal dealer network is thinner than Sea Ray's. Service depth depends on the local relationship.
  • Bow lounge cushions UV-degrade in three to five years in southern climates.
  • Premium over a Chaparral 21 SSI at a similar size sits at 25 to 35 percent.
  • Slip rental at 26 feet adds real money on top of an outboard service budget.

Year-by-year notes

The 26 XO launched for 2019 on the current 26-foot 6-inch hull. The 2021 model added the wet bar with fridge as standard, upgraded the electronics package to Garmin glass, and added the entertainment package. The 2022 model added the twin Mercury 200 engine option alongside the continuing single Mercury 300 build. The 2023 model refreshed the helm seating and the bow lounge cushions. The current 2026 catalog continues on the 2023 layout. The 2019 first-year hulls had a few owner reports of bow cushion fit issues that later production has cleaned up. Verify cushion fit and stitching on those hulls.

Cost of ownership

Annual recurring costs on a 26 XO used 60 hours a season are lower than an inboard boat at this length. Fuel at 14 gallons per hour cruise on the twin 200 build burns 850 gallons a year, which at $4.50 to $5.50 per gallon dockside is $3,800 to $4,700 a year. Slip rental at a Lake Travis or Florida Intracoastal marina at $18 a foot per month is roughly $5,700 a year. Bottom paint isn't typical on trailered boats and is $2,000 to $3,500 a year if slip-stored. Mercury outboard service on the twin 200s at the manufacturer's interval is $300 to $500 per engine in parts, plus dealer labor of $250 to $400 per engine. Cushion repair, audio repair, and miscellaneous upgrades add another $1,000 to $2,500 over five years. Insurance on a $120,000 hull value is $1,400 to $2,600 a year.

A five-year hold on a 2022 used 26 XO bought at $125,000 with 200 hours, used 60 hours a season at Lake Travis with seasonal slip and trailer storage, lands at roughly $13,000 to $18,000 a year all-in including insurance, fuel, service, slip, and amortized capital cost.

Best year and trim to buy

The 2021-2023 Regal 26 XO with twin Mercury 200 outboards, the wet bar package, Garmin glass, the entertainment package, and the tandem-axle trailer is the right buy in 2026 for most day-cruising buyers. Hours between 100 and 400 are the sweet spot. The twin 200 build holds price 4 to 7 percent better than the single 300 build at the same hours.

Verify four items pre-purchase. First, the bow cushion stitching and fit are clean (especially on 2019 first-year hulls). Second, the Mercury service file shows current 100-hour service on the engines. Third, the deck non-skid is clean and even. Fourth, the wet bar fridge cools and the audio system works on Bluetooth and aux inputs.

Alternatives

The watersports cross-shop in the same brand is the Regal LS6 Surf, which trades the XO's bow lounge for a wakeboard tower and a dedicated surf wake. The direct competitor at similar size is the Cobalt R6, which trades the outboard package for a sterndrive setup at a similar premium tier. The less-expensive cross-shop is the Chaparral 21 SSI, which covers the bowrider brief at a smaller size and a materially lower entry price.