Viking Yachts, which forged a partnership with Princess Yachts International of Plymouth, England, in 1995 to create the Viking Sport Cruisers line, is applying the same strategy on a larger scale. The Viking Custom 105 Motoryacht is built with Versilcraft of Viareggio, Italy, in a partnership expected to yield a range of motoryachts up to about 135 feet that will carry the Viking nameplate in the Americas.
The Pezzini family owns Versilcraft, which sells mostly to Europeans. Tom Carroll, president and CEO of Viking Sport Cruisers and Viking Custom, said Viking would continue to focus U.S. production on convertibles while working with partners on some motoryachts.
“We feel that the melding of our sales and service network with proven European products makes more sense than starting from scratch”, he said.
A pair of 1,800 hp Detroit Diesel MTU 16V 2000s powers the 105 Motoryacht’s semi-displacement hull, which has a top speed of 24 knots and a cruising speed of 22 knots, according to the builder. She carries 4,000 gallons of fuel in integral fiberglass tankage and has a range of about 1,100 nautical miles at 13 knots. She is built of fiberglass in female tooling. Her hull is a solid laminate, and her superstructure and decks are cored with foam and balsa. RINA classification is standard, and Viking designs and specifies mechanical and electrical systems and oversees the construction of each vessel.
Viking Custom’s design team, together with Savio Design, penned the interior arrangement and specified the décor. A variety of layouts and interior finishes is available, and Viking will tailor a design to a client’s needs.
To keep pace with its expansion into the large yacht market, Viking recently opened a service facility in Riviera Beach, Florida. Company aircraft are on 24-hour call and can be dispatched to the East Coast, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
Viking Custom is working on two larger designs scheduled to make their debuts in 2004.
-Jay Coyle
Contact: Viking Custom, (609) 296-6000; fax (609) 296-7139.
