Viking Yachts are semi-custom built in New Gretna, New Jersey which allows a lot of opportunity for the owner to tailor the final product to suit the purpose for which the boat will be used.
This is only a list of the custom items and does include original specification items.
Power : twin MAN 2842LE206 1200hp diesels
Range: 400+ miles at cruising speed
Fuel: 1600 gallons in three tanks. There is a custom fuel transfer system which has built in redundancy as there is no point having the fuel on board but in the wrong tank ! There are two pumps connected to a three way manifold so that either pump can transfer from either tank.
Cruising speed: 30 knots ( 36 mph ) @ 2000 rpm
Top Speed: 39 knots ( 47 mph)
Helm chairs: Stidd 500 - the most comfortable chairs for rough water and long distance travel
Fighting chair: Bluewater - used for the big ones
Outriggers: Rupp
Cockpit: Eskimo crushed ice - for those days when fishing becomes catching or for lots of cold beer
Live bait well under floor
Engine room: Sea Recovery 600 gpd water maker
voltage stabilizer - for marinas where power is not too stable
electric fuel priming pumps - they make the job a lot easier than the manual ones
Salon stereo: Sony surround sound, CD/DVD player with Bose speaker system
Salon TV: Sony 32FV15
Galley: Kenyon electric stove
Sub Zero under counter fridge and freezer units
Electronics: Furuno FR-7252/6 72 mile radar with a 6ft antenna - bigger is better
Furuno FCV-1000 color sounder with range of 1500 ft.
Furuno GP-31 gps
Northstar 952XD gps
Icom M802 ssb radio
Icom M502 vhf
Sea 8000 hailer
Icom vhf
Furuno RD33 digital depth, water temperature and speed
Antennas Digital vhf and ssb 2 of each
Satellite phone Thrane & Thrane
Simrad Robertson AP22 auto pilot
ACR EPIRB - just in case
Flybridge : Sony CD receiver
Sony CD changer
MB Quart speakers with 2 in cockpit
Kicker sub woofer 10"
Life raft: Winslow 6 person
Port of Registry: George Town, Grand Cayman - the largest registry of large yachts in the world.
In addition to these we had a number of items done that do not fit neatly into a particular category we had these done:
The upper bunk which is really suitable only for small children was replaced with a rod storage locker. We had a connection installed in the cockpit to permit the removal of oil from the engines so that it is not necessary to balance a 5 gallon bucket, filled with oil, up a fairly tight set of steps from the engine room. A superfluous third door was removed from the second head (toilet). A gas/water separator was installed to divert the cooling water from the generator so that it did not discharge onto the swim steps on the transom. There is coaming around the sides of the cockpit as we fight fish standing up most of the time. The chairs on the flybridge have been realigned to take into account the helm pod with single lever controls. We used some dead space just inside the door from the cockpit to install small shelves for sun tan lotions, cell phones, keys etc that form part of a day's necessities when we are chillin'.
Captain's Log:
The boat itself is a fine example of the quality of work that can be produced on a production line which is flexible enough to permit customization.
We brought the boat down from Trump Marina, Atlantic City, New Jersey to Miami Beach Marina, Miami, Florida mostly via the sea route but via the inland waterway from Charleston, South Carolina to Palm Beach, Florida. Along the way we met some very friendly people who fuelled us after closing time and made our short stay at marinas as comfortable as we could have wished. It was a trip with a purpose and not a leisurely vacation. Two bridge tenders - one in South Carolina and the other in north Florida left a memory we would rather not have. They thought that boats were made of rubber and could be made to fit through places smaller than their physical size. Other than for those two we were treated with great courtesy.
After three months of shake down cruising we had teething problems attended to in exemplary manner by Viking and MAN. The Viking items were all extremely minor in nature. The MAN representative, Diesel Tech, dealt with minor oil leaks as a priority item although we would have been happy to leave them until the scheduled oil change. It took High Seas Technology Inc of Ft. Lauderdale, who installed the electronics, three attempts to replace the wrong model ssb radio they had installed. We are yet to hear from Simrad about and RFI problem we have with the autopilot which High Seas cannot diagnose or remedy. Five faxes and three emails to Simrad have been unanswered. Datamarine on the other hand sent replies from two different departments in response to a query about RFI from the Link processor into the vhf radio. (Simrad finally answered and problem is resolved).
We made the delivery trip from Miami via Key West, Havana and Maria Lagorda (south west Cuba) and were treated with courtesy at each stop. The seas between Cuba and Cayman put the boat to the test which it passed with flying colors. The seas were six to eight feet coming at us from three different directions at a time. We really appreciated the electronics and Stidd chairs without which the trip would have been even more unpleasant.
Since getting home the boat has been fished successfully on the weekends when the weather has permitted. As we are coming to the end of a hurricane season that has been uneventful for us we should not complain about a few days of bad weather.
In mid-December we are scheduled to take the boat back to Miami to get a few more custom items taken care of. One of the main items is the installation of a pneumatic door opener which we are doing for safety purposes. The salon door is difficult to control in sloppy seas and it tends to close at the wrong time. A trip for food, a drink, a call of nature or even to catch a few winks is inevitable while fishing or heading for a far off place and we have not yet found out how to control the weather.
The boat went back to Florida as scheduled and we were treated to four months of ineptitude by people who wanted the pay but not the work. What should have been three weeks work by Viking approved contractors dragged out until late April. The weather was uncooperative also so the boat was unused. Another part of the learning experience -- if you want to get work done you must stand over people no matter how much they seem to hate it and as far as the weather goes you plan to go out when the weather is good not when you want to.
Bahamas trip.2001
The month of May was spent in the Bahamas and the last experience was quickly erased from memory. After departing Miami we headed for the Berry Islands and spent a week at Great Harbor marina. Clearing Customs and Immigration was a very pleasant experience and formalities were quickly over. We fished, swam and toured the Island in a 1980's Lincoln Town car.
Next stop was Atlantis marina in Nassau. A top drawer facility that barely tolerates our sized boat -- it is too small. The water park brought out the kid in all of us including a friend who has just retired! After two days there we crossed the harbor to fuel and stock up the food and beverage supplies and then we headed for the Exumas.
Highborne Cay was our first stop and we fished out of there for two days before heading south to Cambridge for an overnight stop then back north to Warderwick Wells which is the headquarters of the National Park system. After an overnight stop on one of the buoys which you rent for by the night we fished our way back to Allen's Cay and spent the late afternoon with the iguanas which live there. A quick run back to Nassau to put our friend into a taxi so he could get a flight out and we made another trip to restock the brewskies. Next morning we left for Chubb Cay.
Arrived there around midday and spent the afternoon running around in the inflatable dinghy which had been the source of much enjoyment in the Exumas (photos were censored from this log).
We were joined by a friend and his son for a few days fishing. One evening we had dinner on the next island which involved a trip sitting in patio chairs in the back of a pick-up truck to get there and in a swamp buggy to return. We estimate the population of Chubb to be about 30 and the dinner island to be 7. Life is best summed up by the response to our question to the dock master about what he did on his day off. He replied "go to work".
Chubb was the final stop so we headed back to Ft. Lauderdale which was a return to reality as we had seen about 50 people at Great Harbor and three at Highborne and Warderwick .
We caught a number of dolphin (or mahi mahi for those who don't know that there are two species of dolphin) but the real game fish were not running in the same waters as we were as they were late. The relaxed pace of life in the outer islands gets to the fish too.
The sea in the Bahamas is every bit as beautiful as the tourist pictures. Other than in Nassau, the people are very friendly and became more so when they found out we were also Islanders.
Ft. Lauderdale:
The boat spent some time there while a discoloration problem with the gel coat was examined and some other things taken care of. The props were balanced and reworked to get rid of some cavitation burns while the bottom was being repainted. Once that was done the boat left for Cayman with a professional crew aboard as we have to work occasionally!.
Cayman Islands:
Since arrival here the boat has not seen much use. The bad weather seems to know when it is a weekend and the storms aggravated the problem. During some of the most severe lightning storms experienced here the boat suffered damage due to the very strong EMF which resulted from a nearby strike. Everything electronic that had a microprocessor or a sensor was taken out. With that behind us we waited for the weather to improve and in December finally used to the boat for a number of days. Fishing has not picked up but the beer is cold. The Rotary Club fishing tournament is scheduled for January 2002 but that will depends on if there is a cold front passing through, maybe they have a weather contact who can plan things so the front passes through midweek instead of the more usual time of a weekend.
Mid March will see the return of the boat to Florida as it is scheduled to go into the Viking service facility that has just opened in West Palm. They will take a closer look at the gel coat which has developed very tiny voids. Once that is taken care of we plan to spend four weeks in the Bahamas doing much as we did before which was very little.
Florida:
Boat spend most of its time at the Viking facility in West Palm. Despite their assurances that the facility was ready and they were expecting us they looked at the boat for two weeks. Finally they rushed their jobs to completion and we are left with gel coat problems seem to be common to all Viking 55 judging from the number of disparaging comments we have heard from other owners. Viking just don't seem to care that the quality of their gel coat finish sucks, a pity as he rest of their quality is first rate. High Seas Technology replaced the electronics that could not be repaired. The new Icom VHF works well as does the new ICOM ssb but the ssb is confusing to operate. They seem to have tried to make it as illogical as possible but we are in correspondence with them and so far they have been receptive to our criticism.
Bahamas 2002:
A rough crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to West End, Grand Bahama was followed by 10 days of wind and rain in Marsh Harbour so we know the docks at Boat Harbour well. We did manage a three days of fishing which produced a marlin and a couple of dolphin. En route to Nassau we fished off Hole in the Wall and caught/released a marlin in 50 ft of water (it must have been lost). Nassau was Nassau and we restocked the vittles and booze before leaving for ten days in the Exumas. Weather was much of the same rain but with a bit more sun than Abaco. We enjoyed Thunderball and the wild pigs. Met two guys (at White Point which is really isolated) who were kayaking from Great Exuma north. It was the first time I have seen a gps installed on a kayak! On the return trip through Nassau we enjoyed the hospitality of Nick and Carolyn Wardle who we have known since 1968 and who had just become grand parents (amazing how some people get older faster than others). We had hoped to fish out of Chub Cay on the way back to Miami but spent another day counting rain drops.
Cayman 2002:
For a change the rain stopped and we made an uneventful trip from Ft. Lauderdale via Key West at the start of August to our home port. Even the sea was calm for a change.
We are now planning the next excursion and trying to out guess the weather.
'Til next update.
Aug 02