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Viking Yachts 64 Review

Replacing a tried-and-true model honors a commitment to excellence
The Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat making waves on the water.
The new 64 from Viking Yachts is highly regarded in terms of both speed and performance. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

Seventy 62-foot convertibles have been delivered by Viking—six of them were used as part of the company’s demo program on the national and international stage. The popular model was highly regarded for both speed and performance. They were well-equipped and raised fish, but replacing a winner is never easy. In the past two decades, Viking has designed and delivered 550 boats from 60 to 70 feet, and there is no doubt it owns this segment of the production boating market. The new 64 is true to form, and it refuses to live in any other’s shadow.

Watch: The Marlin team explores the fishery of the Andaman Sea off Myanmar in this episode of Bluewater Chronicles.

Viking’s mantra is to build a better boat every day—a philosophy fostered by co-founders Bill and Bob Healey. These days, the second and third generation of Healeys are taking the reins, and the commitment remains as steadfast and relentless as ever as the company’s shipwrights navigate into their 58th year of building state-of-the-art tournament contenders.

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The cockpit and fighting chair of the Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat.
The teak-topped cockpit, ready for offshore action. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

Cockpit

The cockpit is ground zero for tournament fishing. With 180 square feet of usable space, every inch has purpose. A pressurized 90-gallon transom livewell keeps bait ready for action, and the mezzanine conceals a freezer, chiller box, and tackle and gear storage. A portside step can be outfitted to stockpile ice or utilize an electric grill. The flybridge overhang delivers spray and sun protection, and air conditioning provides a cool breeze on those breathless tropical days. Centerline finds a watertight lazarette, with an optional power actuator to access the Seakeeper 26 gyrostabilizer. Corner scuppers drain water quickly, and can also be plumbed if you choose to fish with removable livewells. Fixtures for raw and fresh water as well as quick-disconnect fittings for oil changes and filling the water tank are located beneath the coaming boards, along with both 12- and 24-volt outlets and portside and starboard-side storage lockers.

The engine room of the Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat.
The engine room is home to a pair of MTU 12V2000 M96X engines, rated at 2,002 mhp each. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

Engine Room

The Snow White Awlgrip-finished engine room is a uniform work of art. Entered through the mezzanine, headroom on the centerline is more than 6 feet, with a solid 26½ inches between the irons. A pair of 21.5 kW Onan gensets are situated aft of the engines for those who prefer redundancy, and the twin setup is flawless.

The aft bulkhead is lined with DC and Octoplex distribution panels, Mastervolt battery chargers and Dometic refrigeration. The oil-transfer system for the engines, transmissions, generators, bilge pumps and various seacocks are labeled in typical Viking fashion, and all hoses and wire-runs throughout the machinery space are chafe-protected, neat and secure. Forward finds a toolbox, AC units, and the Furuno Omni sonar tube. Movement outboard is virtually effortless, and the equipment is lined up in military precision. To port is the main switch for the Side-Power DC bow thruster controls and the ElectroSea Clearline growth-prevention system; to starboard, the Dometic-Spot Zero watermaker combo, Willy Vac and Headhunter freshwater pump are easily accessible. A Delta-T ventilation and ­water-suppression system supplies the engine room with clean, ambient airflow.

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The interior salon of the Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat.
The boat’s interior design is spacious, with a straight-line companionway through the boat. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

Interior

The sheer volume of the 64’s wide beam invites an uncluttered view forward—accented with satin-finished horizontal grain walnut that adds dimension throughout the interior. An electrical panel at eye level provides convenient access to the ship’s systems, and an adjacent 50-inch high-definition television rises from the cabinetry opposite the L-shaped sofa that hides significant storage inside.

A dinette is situated to port, and the raised base conceals another one of the yacht’s storage areas. The peninsula-style galley and bar feature engineered-stone counters and a pair of stools. Top-notch appliances, ample storage and premium vinyl Amtico flooring are among the standard highlights; an island galley option is available for those who prefer it.

The master stateroom of the Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat.
The spacious master stateroom. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

Below, the four-stateroom, three-head layout provides the same striking walnut joinery, comfort and privacy, including a walk-around bed in the master, a choice of forward stateroom accommodations, and even more storage. A companionway laundry center adds to the 64’s numerous amenities.

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Flybridge

Viking’s popular center-console helm station ramps up style and practicalities with a newly designed black acrylic helm dash featuring three flush-mounted Seatronx touchscreen displays. The angle of the dash brings the screens closer to the ­skipper to shorten the reach, and the entire console has been raised for better access to the radio boxes that flank the teak helm pod. Two boxes in the fiberglass hardtop house additional electronics and displays, as well as a set of teaser reels. The controller for the Omni sonar stows beneath the helm and includes a remote for the operator.

Three Release Marine Trillion helm chairs provide comfort for those long offshore jaunts, with convenient fore and aft drink boxes. Port and starboard benches provide storage, while the forward lounge sits on top of a 76-gallon freezer—another nod to the boat’s long-range travel capability.

Read Next: Meet Viking president and CEO Pat Healey in our exclusive interview.

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Performance and Construction

Off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, with Capt. Ryan Higgins—Viking’s Southeast sales manager and 15-year demo veteran—at the wheel, the 64-footer ripped into a two-way average top speed of 42 knots burning 200 gph with a near-full load of fuel. In a 2- to 3-foot sea and 10- to 12-knot northeast breeze, the boat was smooth and chatter-free; the wake was crisp and well-defined. Viking’s design manager, David Wilson, explains some of the details of this new hull’s running surface: “The refinements include the chine angle of attack and a softer radius transitioning from the deadrise to the chine. We also slightly lowered the strakes in the bow for increased spray-deflection. Moving aft, the chines widen, and together with the strakes, they provide excellent lift. We also changed the shaft angle and the propeller-pocket diameter, length and entry for better water flow to the props, and to minimize draft.”

The helm and electronic displays of the Viking Yachts 64 sport-fishing boat.
The redesigned helm layout. Courtesy Viking Yacht Company

As I took the helm, the tie-bar-free SeaStar Optimus steering connected me instinctively to every maneuver I made. Slipping along at 1,800 rpm, we were making 29 knots using 122 gallons of fuel for a range of 403 nautical miles, while a brisk 35 knots at 2,100 rpm burned 156 gph for a range of 385 nm.

The new Viking 64 utilizes the builder’s proprietary manufacturing processes, including a vinylester resin-infused fiberglass hull with composite coring ­material throughout, structural composite bulkheads and integrated, resin-infused tankage. Vertically unified from design to delivery, 90 percent of what goes into building a Viking 64 is manufactured at its facility in New Gretna, New Jersey, and the company subsidiaries—Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers—help produce a turnkey product for a seamless build experience.

As Viking continues its head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone approach to the ever-evolving boating market, we are sure to see replacement models take hold. After all, as Abraham Lincoln once said: “The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it.”

Viking Yachts 64 Specs

  • LOA: 63’8″
  • Beam: 18’11”
  • Draft: 5’7″
  • Displ: 99,738 lb.
  • Fuel: 1,850 gal. (std.), 2,201
  • Water: 302 gal.
  • Power: Twin MTU 12V 2000 M96X, 2,002 mhp
  • Gear/Ratio: ZF 3050A, 2.259:1
  • Propellers: Veem, 5-blade
  • Climate Control: Dometic

This article originally appeared in the February 2022 print issue of Marlin.

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