lUp P d In robu t, open-ocean

.ondltlon : 44.8 mph. Primarily

I bed nd stringers give

lid, wholly Integrated ride.

June 2004 Power & Motoryacht 65

short orthe sea buoy. "Now this is boat testing," I CIl OIII ('d,

hasking in the steady thrum of power plants wort I" of III!"

11 <I 111 ('-a match e d set of 1 ,050-hp MA diese l illi>o.1I d"

whil"iil1 g beefy Temet shafts, and big, five-bladed , S-dl" ( I R

props . For added grins, I popped a swilch on 111(' d,,,11 .1

nH lpl t' or tillll's ,.iusi. to sce how effcc livc and bSI Ih(' 1\\ '111\('11

66 Power & Motoryacht June 2004

lacquered natural-cherry joinery in the saloon/dinette area (above) is

lIawle Iy finished. A "cocktail cabinet" (opposite the dining table) offers

boUI towage and a Bose entertainment center. The midship galley

(left) Is almost invisible-appliances are concealed behind the joinery.

I.ti), 1\'(,1 \'. "Groovy," I noted in shortorder,just beforc Icveling

h,l( J.. (HII <l nd spinning thc wheel hard over to starboard.

111 (' \ '!iH banked like a sea-stompil1g offshore raccr. Both

III d 1,lltli(~ a l1d e ngine-drive n power-assist had to be at the

h01l1l1l1 orlhc fingertip sreering control I was currently expc­

III 'IH Ill g, I suggested to Can-oil. He noddcd as I straightcnccl

III(" ho,ll 01 11 a nd , withjust a lad more throttle, began bee-

1il11l1g ,oll ih at 3D-some m il es pcr hour, wit ll wavcs and

\\1 '01 1111'1 over the stern.

\\ \" 1\ ' lalkin' a drive r 's boat here, fo lks! Visibi li ty from th c

( IIlll h , ho lster-type helm seat I was squcezed into was supcrb,

10" '"11 ' t'xtc nt due to th c whopping size of the panels in thc

\ ",K', I;RP windshield , but to an evcn larger extcntto th c

opll llllllll , f(Hlr-degree running angle thc vesse l assumes upon

,l< llinil1g plane and steadily mainta ins a ll the way up 10 he r

W() (' ' IHTd of" 44.8 mph. or course, numcrous factors COIl-

The master offers a double berth, opening ports, cedar-lined

hanging lockers, dressing table, and individual reading lights.

tribute to this polished, punch-packing behavior, not

the least of them being a slippery, deep-V hull form

drawn by famOLlS powerboat designer Bernard

Olesinski. Th e re 's no beating an array of nicely

blended design elements, like prop pockets f<lr de­

creased shaft angle and draft; broad, slightly-reversed

chine flats for increased lift and transverse stabili ty;

and a comparatively narrow, rocket-shape footprint

[or enhanced speed and turn-canring agi lity.

But balance is the key co ntributor to the V58's

sinewy poise, at least in my opinion. The ex planation

is simple. Certa inly Marine Projects, th e oUlflt that

builds Sport Cruisers for Vik ing Yachts in Engl<lnd,

might have added extra room to the V58's interior by

installing her main engines farth e r aft, an approach

favored by exp ress-boat manufacturers who don 't

mind overly high running angles, as we ll as limited

visibi lity frolll the helm , as long as they can cra in in a

few extra television sets and c urvaceous lounges .

Marine PrC!jeCls took th e high road on this score , however:

They sacrificed some of the V58's interior SP,ICC and installed

th e mains f~lr enough forward to guarantee optimllm, ni ce ly

balanced running angles and superb drivability.

A good idea? Nope, a great idea! Whether I was learin g

south towa rds 80yn ton In let or whom pi ng across cigh t-rooters

northbound , our test boat offered a soft, enjoyable , bulle l-like

ride. Moreover, transitioning between up-sea and down-sea ori­

e nlalions was smoother than a hound dog's nose-Ihe bO<l1

kept her bow up in the troughs, and I never once felt like I was

losing COil t 1'01. VDO gauges and other instruments on Ihe dash

we re readable al <I glance. And on top of everything e lse, as we

appro'iclied 01 11' slip at Viking

tops, alld opelling-port v(,lltilalioli . Tile level of lit and finish

was gCllerally high cvcl)""herc, wi lh lillcly 1lI0ldcd, slrip-Iami­

nated , pill-muted door casings and c,lpr,lils I hroughout-no

mitered or scarf'cd .joillls hcre-,Incl flawlessl y app lied

polyurelhane varnisli on the modltiarly buill hlrnishings.

Descendillg Ihe ladder illl o Ihe lIlachillel), spaces through

<I ha tch in lh e cockpit sole cngcndered a ilush of mild sur­

prise. Tlte engine room is nOI wide, hili il is long and reasoll­

ably roOllly, parliCitiarly in lighl orlhe narrowness Oflhc hull

rorm , the bulk orlhe V-8 MANs, lite presence o fvolumill ous,

saddlc-tYlx' hil'I tanks outboard orlltelll, and a ga rage large

enough 10 hold all I l-f(lOI RIB IVc ll arIon the sLarboard \iclc.

I kadroom was (1\-('1'111 al

Yach ts Service Ccnter ill Rivi- Heads onboard have teak-and-holly soles and separate stall showers. 5' I 0" , and th c Cc III r,tI ,tlll -

era Bcach afkr our wringollt,

Carrolln o led lhat th e rore­

cl ec k and windshie ld were

darn lIear bone-dry. Cool!

I began exam ining Olir test

boat dockside as soon as we

we re ti cclup. The American

c h erry inLerior kaLured a

th rce-staleroom la yo ut (a

two-slaLeroom version is avai l­

able), wilh a maste r and guest

afL, VI P forward , and a teak­

sole ga ll ey, din e tte area, and

saloon area in between. Both

the maste r and VIP have en

su ite heads wiLh separate stall

showers, Avon ite counter-

minum diamon<i-pl.llc lI'a lk­

lVay was as uscahl\-.I'.1 eil),

sidewalk: I cOlild 1I.I\t ' I'V il

lV ith SIllOOlh , 11I11t.llllpl' ITd

ease . M'lilllt'II.lII( (' ,1(Tt'SS

cOnlillll('cllll( ' III( III<' I had

ahsollllt '" 1101 cltllit Itll\ gel­

lill g 10 III( clllplt' '">(,P,II ruel­

W,ilt ' l Itllt 'l' tIll Iltv ,d'l rire­

\\.111 lIlt' c 10" (olllieCled

Ilelc ', \I ,IIIIIl ' e1llpk~~ sha ft­

log, hc I()\\ Iltt ' lli , or a ll )' of

till \ .IIIIIII,,( ·l\i«· points on

III( c'lI glll(' ,

\\ 11.ll I (C)Jtld 'IT or con­

,IIIH 110111111111' t'ngill e room

\\,1' .I' illlpi ('ssi\'(.' as th e

June 2004 Power & Motoryacht 67

The sunpad astern lifts to access a waterbike or tender

that can be handled via electric winch. Farther forward,

cockpit amenities include a wetbar and electric grill.

m ec h a ni ca ls. Th e V!)H is it hi g hl y inLegra te d

boal, wiLh an egg-cra le-type la LLice o rfoam-cored

sLre ng Lh c ll C'rs prim aril y bo nded into a so lid­

g lass hull ; a h OS l o r modlil a r interio r co mpo­

ne n ts and f"tlrnishillgs Lh at fiL inLo it gianL, unde r­

lying, FRI' "Lray mo ld" seconda rily bo nded to

lhe hull sides, sLringe r LOpS, a nd the unde rside

or t he d eck; and a hull-LO-d eckj o illl Lh aL's bo th

bo ll c d a nd fib e rg lassed , a ll th e way a ro und.

I laving a ch an ce LO see aspects o f Marine Pro­

j ecLs' a p p roach LO boa Lbuildin g, b OLh in Lh e

e ng ine roo m and the laza re tte a bafL iL, handed

m e a clea re r unde rsta ndin g o fLh e securiLy ('d

fe ll while driving the V58 o ffsh o re .

\IVhi ch, by way of conclusio n , brings me back to some thing

I've a lready cove red ra th e r eXLe nsive ly-the Lrue esse nce o r

Lh e boa l. Whil e Lh e re's no d o ubL th e Vikin g Spo n Cruise rs

V58 Ex press YachL is a solidly builL, fin e ly finish ed pe rformer,

Lhe re 's also no ques Lion LhaL he r fo n e is zooming a ro und th e

high seas WiLh th e ve rve o f a Lh oroughbred.

Fun LO dri ve? Oh yeah . And th e bi gge r th e seas, Lh e

be LLe r! •

Viking Sport Cruisers" (609) 296-6()OO. www.vikingsl)(Jri

{'misers. com.

For odditionol photos, visit our Web site at poweranrlmotoryacht.com/webfeatures. Q

pmv leSled: Viking SC V58 Express Yacht

RPM MPH GPH MPG 1M NM OEOBElI TRIM (KNOTI) (NMPG) RANGE IlANGE (OEGREEI)

1000 14.2 (123) 8.0 1.78 (1.54) 1,054 917 72 2.5 1250 19.4 (16.9) 20.0 0.97 (0.84) 576 501 76 4.0 1500 26.4 (23.0) 34.0 0.78 (0.68) 461 401 77 4.0 1750 32.7 (28.4) 50.0 0.65 (0.57) 388 337 81 4.0 2000 38.4 (33.4) 68.0 0.56 (0.49) 335 292 86 4.0 2250 44.8 (38.9) 100.0 0.45 (039) 266 231 86 4.0

Conditions: lemperoture: 80'; humidity: 47%; wind: 20·25 mph; seas: 6'-8'; load: 160 gal. fuel, 125 gal. water, 2 persons, 200 Ibs. geor. Speeds ore two-way overages measured w/ Stolker radar gun. GPH mcosUlcd with MAN fuel-monitoring equipment. Range: 90% of advertised fuel capacity. Decibels measured on A scole 6S dB ~ the level 01 normal conve~olion. All measurements token with trim tabs fully retrocted.

50 45 40 35

2 30 =-S 25 -= 20 Q)

Q)

15 =-V'l 10

5

.-/' -

/' ,--

/ -_.-

V _.

L / -

1I o 10 20 30 40 50

Time (seconds)

Acceleration based on overage of 4 reciprocal runs using Stalker ATS radar gun and OceonPC laptop.

68 Power & Motoryacht June 2004

Bose price: $1,247,000 with 2/715-hp Volvo Pento 012·715 diesel inboords Optional power: 2/ 1,015-hp Coterpillor (18 01

2/ 1 ,050-hp MAN 02840lE403 diesel inboOids Standard equipment: Trend Morine opening ports; Lewmor windloss w/ remote controls; 8-hp Sidepower bow thruster; Ritchie composs; VOO onolog engine instlUmentotion; Furuno Novner, Simrod AP20 outopilot; FUlUno RD-30 depthsounder; leom IC·M602 VHF; Force 10 cook top; ShOlp microwove oven; MONel refrigerotor; Neff grill, ROIiton refr igerotor/ ice moker ond sis sink in cockpit; duplex Sepor SWK 2000/ 18 UKO fuel-woter seporators; Tides Morine dripless shoftlogs; Reverso oil· chonge system; Gionneschi & Romocciol1i enginwoom blowers; 90iJmp Moss 24/ 75 bonery chorger; 13.5·1<.W Onon genser, 10 Oelco Freedom boneries (4 storting, 6 house, ond 1 genset); 38,000·81u Cruisoir A/C; 2/5D­omp shore-jlower hookups; 2/ Chorles Morine Is0-800st isolotion tronsfOimers; Seo-Fire FM 200 outo. fire­exnnguishing system

SPECIFICATIONS Length overall: 58'11 " Beam: 15'5" Dralt: 3'8" Weight (dry): 44,800 Ibs. Fuel capacity: 660 gal. Water capacity: 125 gal. Test engines: 2/ 1 ,0SO·hp MAN 02840lE403 diesel inboords Transmissions/ratio: ZF 5S0A/ l.97: 1 Props: 30x46 S-{Ioss S-blode UR Steering: Telenex Seo-Stor hydroulic w/ Hypro Morine powerllssist Controls: Rexroth Mecmon electronic Optional equipment on test boot: hordtop w/ eleclric sliding roof; 16,00D-81u (lUisoir cockpit A/ C Price as tested: $1 ,512,000