Boaters who want to experience the look, the feel and the attitude of high-performance boating but don't have an extra six figures at their disposal need look no further than Baja's new 26 Outlaw. The big-boat feel isn't an illusion with an 8-foot-4-inch beam — wider than the beam on some 38-foot performance boats — and a true 24-degree deep-V hull that slashes through the waves in style during sloppy test conditions, yet is easy to drive. This trailerable 26-footer comes with huge Livorsi gauges and performance controls, and features drop-down, Aero bolster seats for the crew.

On most compact performance boats, cabins are an afterthought, but the 26 Outlaw has a twin-tier sleeping configuration that gives you a spacious V-berth for two adults in the upper section, and room for another adult or pair of kids in the lower athwart section. There's even an easy-to-access head on the centerline for maximum headroom.  

The test boat features an optional 425-hp MerCruiser 496 MAG, which pushes it to a top speed of 67 mph, but the standard power package is no slouch with a 375-hp MerCruiser 496 MAG Bravo I sterndrive. Good stuff certainly, but for those who want to hang with the big dogs on poker runs, you can option your way up to MerCruiser's new supercharged 600 SCI Bravo XR (600 hp), which comes with racing gear like Latham steering and K-Planes trim tabs. The 26 Outlaw can handle all this power, thanks to the addition of Kevlar and carbon fiber in the lay-up, which also keeps the weight down.