Our friends at Viking celebrated their 47th year last week – below is a look into the past they put together for the occasion…
Today marks a special date in the history of the Viking Yacht Company. Founded by brothers Bill and Bob Healey 47 years ago on April 1, 1964, what began as a small, wooden boat building company has developed into the world’s largest privately owned and family operated manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sportfishing convertible yachts.
From a single building in our salad days to a massive facility encompassing five buildings and 820,000 square feet of manufacturing space, Viking has grown by leaps and bounds. Ever the consummate boat builder, a youthful Bill Healey discusses Viking’s running gear and bottom shape with editor Hank Bowman from Boating magazine in the late 1960s. The Healeys’ willingness to share boating knowledge throughout the years earned them recognition among their peers and resulted in the Healey Brothers being inducted into the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame for their numerous contributions to pleasure boating and the marine industry.
Old ads told the story about the Viking brand. Today’s ads speak for themselves.
From day one, the emphasis was on building good looking boats that ran strong and were nicely finished. A boat that would turn the heads of people walking down the dock. Today’s Vikings are the epitome of style, luxury and performance. Each one built with the same care and attention to detail as the one before it, only better.
Bill Healey coined the phrase ‘building a better boat everyday” 47 years ago. It’s been our mission since and will continue into perpetuity. Thanks, Bill and Bob for making it all possible.
