68 foot viking yacht

• Boat Reviews

Boat Review: Viking 68

• By Dean Travis Clarke
• Updated: February 10, 2006

Viking 68 2006 Main

Bill Healey, the patriarch of Viking Yachts, never ceases to impress me. Even in his late 70s he still does 100 push-ups a day, and I once watched him scale a 12-foot cyclone fence with ease when he had forgotten his keys. But those instances pale to his most impressive skill. I walked down a dock with him during a Viking owners’ rendezvous one year. He knew every owner’s name, the wife’s name, every child’s name and … well, you get the picture. That kind of attention to detail carries over in Viking’s boatbuilding, too. It’s a boatbuilding family with a stern, competent taskmaster as the father figure.

**Flybridge **The 68’s flybridge sports a center-console helm with superb 360-degree visibility. Viking chooses a fixed electronics console with clear acrylic doors rather than one that raises and lowers. The upside to this is that it keeps the electronics visible but protected if you happen to run in truly foul weather. Fishing rods stow neatly under port and starboard bench seats, while a freezer and bench seat line the console’s forward side. Of course, that’s on the open-bridge model. There’s also a closed-bridge version that comforts you with air conditioning and an internal spiral staircase rising up from the salon.

**Engine Room **No matter which engine package you choose, expect your Viking 68 to be a runner. Viking offers both MTU and Caterpillar engines, providing cruising speeds of up to 34 knots and wide-open throttle upwards of 39 knots, with the highest horsepower. The configuration of the bonded-in tanks holding the 2,000 gallons of fuel conforms to the hull shape, which Viking claims increases hull strength. Also available: an optional upgrade to carry 2,375 gallons of diesel.

Expect standing headroom on centerline with plenty of room for routine maintenance both inboard and outboard of the power plants. Viking also incorporates advanced composite acoustic materials in the engine compartment to keep the living quarters above and forward church-service quiet.

Viking’s communications expert, Peter Frederiksen, keeps referring to these as “workboats.” “After all,” he says, “when it comes to serious fishing, Viking Yachts do the work.” If that’s the case, then these must be the most luxurious workboats ever built. Perfect teak joinery, expensive designer fabrics and a sense of sybaritic luxury assure an owner that he or she will never have to step down in comfort or ambience from home to boat. And yet, as Frederiksen says, when it comes to fishing, even the most hard-core offshore angler appreciates what Viking puts into every hull.

I love lots of light, and Viking’s frameless windows fill the salon with enough daylight to make the teak and granite counters fairly glow. Thankfully, Viking (like most builders today) has moved away from the galley-down layout. With the galley on the same level as the salon, the chef/host/hostess needn’t be separated from the party. The 68’s cabaret banquette-style dinette seats four adults and works well with the galley breakfast bar and stools to augment it.

The U-shaped galley balances the L-shaped salon settee admirably, and comes equipped with Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer drawers under the counters and other top-of-the-line appliances.

The entertainment center on the salon’s port side contains a 42-inch plasma television hidden in the counter, which rises silently at the touch of a button.

Belowdecks, you’ll find the master stateroom with private head and shower situated aft. The king-size island berth runs athwartships. The forward stateroom sports a queen-size island berth with massive storage space below. The remaining two cabins to starboard both provide over/under singles and a private head with shower.

**Cockpit **I’m certain Frederiksen has the 68’s huge cockpit in mind when he considers it a workboat. At 186 square feet, it accommodates multiple anglers and mates without conflict. The obligatory mezzanine hosts myriad storage opportunities beneath the step and seats. Standard equipment includes tackle storage, a 10-cubic-foot bait freezer and the engine-room hatch. I also really like the current trend of electric salon doors that open at the touch of a button. It sure beats getting bowled over while trying to handle a heavy door in an equally heavy sea.

**Design and Construction **Viking recently installed a five-axis router in its factory, and the new 68 reaped the benefits. With this CAD/CAM machine, Viking can quickly and economically produce its own molds, plugs and jigs. Expect even more innovative design features in all future Vikings. Those knowledgeable about past Viking styles will quickly recognize changes in the flybridge and the helm console, thanks to the new machine.

The fiberglass bottom sports a 15-degree deadrise at the transom, sharp enough to smooth the ride in a head sea yet shallow enough to provide stability in a beam sea and reasonable fuel economy at cruise. With a 51¼2-foot draft, you’ll experience precious few Bahamian anchorages you can’t navigate. I’ve also enjoyed better performance when backing down on a fish with prop pockets such as the 68’s.

Viking vacuum-bags 11¼4-inch balsa coring into the 68’s bottom, adding 2 inches over the propeller pockets for additional strength. However, areas surrounding thru-hull fittings, running gear, shaft logs, bow thrusters, etc. remain solid fiberglass. Interestingly, Viking also sands each layer of fiberglass in the hull before applying the next laminate to make an even more secure bond between layers.

Combine all the great improvements with excellent performance and undeniable sex appeal, and you immediately understand why Viking enjoys its status as one of the world’s premier production boatbuilders.

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Viking Yachts 68 Convertible

The brand-new Viking Yachts 68 Convertible made its public debut at the 2018 Miami Yacht Show on Collins Avenue to an overwhelmingly positive, public response. “The 68 is another legendary boat in a long line of fishing boats in the 60-foot and 70-foot range,” Viking CEO Pat Healey said in a statement about the launch of the 68C. He continued, “No one is doing the job we are doing today in this size range.” Everything about the new Viking 68 screams tournament billfish angler that brought his family along for the ride. There is a space built-in to the 68 specifically for the optional Seakeeper Gyro so even in rough seas, there is little or no rocking at all. The galley on the 68 has tons of storage, Sub-Zero refrigeration hidden in the counters that include locking mechanisms so the drawers, and lots of seating both in the salon and the counter top adjacent to the galley. Whether fishing or cruising, Viking has added thoughtful conveniences for both lifestyles.

If the 68C will be your first time purchasing a Viking, we recommend you read " Your Resource Guide To Owning A New Viking Yacht ."

The cockpit on the 68 Convertible is possibly the greatest billfish fighting presentation on any sportfish in its class. At 176 square feet, with a reinforced deck and fighting chair, a walk-thru transom door, flush rod holders, storage for tackle, a fishwell with macerator pump in the deck, and countless other compartments for hear, the Viking 68 cockpit is an angler’s dream. And much like a star quarterback loves the fans cheering him on; your guests can watch the action in comfort from the observation mezzanine which has Sunbrella-covered cushions and is air-conditioned.

Guests on board will appreciate Viking’s standard layout that includes a private head and shower in each of the four staterooms. The master stateroom is placed starboard and is almost the entire beam of the boat with ample storage including hanging lockers and credenzas. There is a queen-sized bed with enough room to walk around it completely along with a 32-inch flatscreen television. The forward stateroom also has a queen-sized bed that hides a massive storage compartment underneath the mattress.

With a top-end speed approaching 40+ knots and a cruise speed over 35-knots, the Viking 68 does not disappoint when it comes to performance. The hull shape has a 12.1-degree transom deadrise which helps to deliver a soft ride, even in rough seas. When the optional twin 1954hp MTU Series 2000 V12 M96L inboards are added, she can hit 46 knots with ease. Even the fuel capacity can be increased to over 2,400 gallons for the extended fishing journeys. Contact your Staten Island Sales Professional today to schedule your tour of the new Viking Yachts 68 Convertible.

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SPECIFICATIONS

• Make Viking Yachts
• Model Convertibles
• Water Capacity 344 Gal.
• Fuel Capacity 2,060 Gal.
• Length Overall 68' 7
• Max Draft 5' 5
• Displacement 115,306 Lbs.
• Engine 1 Specs
• Make MTU Series 2000
• Model V12 M96L
• Fuel Diesel
• Engine Power 1,954 HP
• Engine 2 Specs
• Total Engine Power 3,908 HP

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Viking 68 Convertible

• By Dudley Dawson
• Updated: October 4, 2007

The phrase “Defining the Evolution of Excellence” is one Viking Yachts uses to announce their new 68-foot Convertible. While both “evolution” and “excellence” seem almost mandatory in marketing materials today, in Viking’s case they are entirely appropriate, if not an understatement. Because there is no question that the sportfishing boats from Viking-always solid sea boats-are better built, better performing and better looking than ever.

The Viking 68 Convertible is a good example. It is slotted into Viking’s existing line between the 65 and the 74 convertibles. It builds on the foundation of those two boats, but surpasses each in several ways. For instance, it is the first model to make use of the company’s new million-dollar 5-axis router, an imposing computer-controlled machine that helps assure more accurate molds. This means a better fit between the many fiberglass parts that make up the finished yacht, for more solid construction with tighter secondary bonds and fewer chances for movement or leakage.

Viking’s designers have given the 68 Convertible an accommodation plan similar to and as spacious as the three-stateroom layout of the 65, with an important exception. Using the extra 3 feet of length and an extra inch of beam, they have managed to add a fourth stateroom that does not require reworking the portside master stateroom into a smaller space, as was done on the 65.

Otherwise, like the 65, the 68 Convertible has a VIP stateroom with an island queen berth forward, a master stateroom with an athwartship queen berth to port, and a cabin with upper and lower twin berths to port. The fourth stateroom, to port abaft the master stateroom, also carries upper and lower berths. It, like the other three staterooms, has an en suite head with shower. A passageway that curves as it goes from the saloon stair to the bow helps avoid the visual effect of a long, narrow tunnel that afflicts too many designs.

Once out of the teak-finished forward accommodations, the Viking 68 Convertible’s kinship with its big sister, the 74, continues in even more dramatic fashion. Though 6 feet shorter, the deckhouse layouts of the two models are strikingly similar. All that’s missing, it seems, is the on-deck day head of the 74. For those who would prefer a smaller boat for whatever reason, and particularly considering the cost difference between the two boats, it seems a small price to pay.

The stairs coming up from the cabins divide the port U-shaped galley, with its granite countertops, from the four-person modified-L dinette to starboard. The aft counter of the open galley widens out to provide bar seating for additional guests. Galley refrigeration is handled by Sub-Zero undercounter units, and dry storage is provided in numerous drawers that pull out on aircraft-style slides that lock into place for safety.

The innovative cabinet layout to port that allowed room on the 74 for either a spiral interior stair to the enclosed bridge, or more space at the bar on open bridge versions, has been duplicated in the 68’s saloon. The cabinetry, in addition to providing a great deal of storage area, houses a 42-inch plasma video screen that rises by remote control.

An L-settee, modified from the 74 but equally spacious, occupies the aft starboard corner of the area, convenient for TV viewing, casual dining or just relaxing. Opposite the settee, just inside the cockpit door and mounted at eye-level for convenience, is the main electrical panel. Air-conditioning outlet grills are mounted behind valances to keep them out of sight and to better control noise.

Stepping through the aft door brings you onto a short mezzanine deck that divides the saloon from the cockpit. Comfortable seating to starboard provides a great vantage point for watching the fishing action, and an anodized aluminum ladder to port leads to the flying bridge. Beneath the seating are lockers for storage of fishing gear and a 9.9-cubic-foot bait freezer as well as access to the engineroom.

The cockpit measures out to 186 square feet, a little bigger than the 179 found on the 65 Convertible but not as large as the 218 square feet that the 74’s extra length and beam allow. It is fully equipped with fresh- and saltwater washdown systems, a transom door with lift gate, aluminum plate reinforcement for mounting a fighting chair, and several in-deck boxes for storage and for fish well and/or live well. Glendinning Cablemasters are also fitted port and starboard for shorepower cords.

The flying bridge, available in both open and closed versions, features a center-console helm. This style at helm can accommodate a lot of electronics and rod stowage. Bench seats to port and starboard provide rod stowage, and a freezer and an additional bench seat are forward of the helm.

Like all Vikings, the new 68 Convertible carries her engines on steel engine beds hung from substantial transverse frames. Depending on engine choice, cruising speeds range from 28 to 34 knots, with a top end of 39 knots. Propeller tunnels are molded into the hull to reduce draft to a Bahamas-capable 5 feet, 5 inches.

Intelligent, evolving design like this results in boats like the Viking 68 Convertible. The progress that has culminated here is no accident, but rather stems from a top-down dedication to continuous improvement and innovation on all levels, led by Viking cofounders Bill Healy and his brother Bob, and now by Bill’s son Pat. A personal example: A few years ago, shortly after I published guidelines for designing propeller tunnels in Professional BoatBuilder magazine, I got a call from Viking cofounder Bill Healy. “Come on up,” he said, “I want you to take a look at what we’re doing.”

I’d seen propellers tested in laboratory settings, but what Viking’s engineers showed me was a new model prototype, their first with prop tunnels, fitted with movable pinhole underwater video cameras through the hull bottom near the stern. As we ran offshore in the open ocean, I watched with fascination as the TV screen showed images in real time of water flow through the props and around the struts, rudders and shafting. It’s a tool Viking now uses on each new model to optimize flow, increasing the percentage of horsepower that’s converted into thrust and reducing the amount that’s lost to vibration-inducing cavitation. It is but one example of the measures taken to make each new model better than its predecessor.

You’ll be able to judge for yourself how well Viking has succeeded with the design of the 68 Convertible this summer and fall. The yacht debuted at their June dealers’ meeting and will be fishing the tournament circuit and visiting boat shows all along the east coast.

Contact: Viking Yachts, (609) 296-6000; www.vikingyachts.com .

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Specifications.

Viking continues its dominance of the sportfishing yacht industry with the Viking 68, a four-stateroom blue-water convertible with unmatched performance, bulletproof construction, luxury interior accommodations and advanced propulsion and boat-control technologies. The 68 C is designed and engineered to function equally as well as a tournament-ready offshore runner and a cruising yacht with all the conveniences and technology that you’ve come to expect from Viking. The optional Seakeeper gyro stabilizer heightens the level of comfort during both fishing and cruising activities. Anglers do battle in a 176-square foot cockpit, while guests can watch from an air-conditioned observation mezzanine. Running on Viking’s proven hull shape with a 12.1-degree transom deadrise, this beautiful battlewagon delivers a soft ride in rough seas, with a 35-knot cruising speed and a top end approaching 40-plus knots. An aggressively raked stem, gently sloping sheer, swept-back black-masked windshield and flying bridge brow present a powerful yet elegant picture.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Step inside the deckhouse and enter a world of luxury, comfort, convenience and smart storage solutions. The four-stateroom, four-head arrangement is sure to please the most fastidious yachtsman as well as the most particular tournament fishermen. A high-gloss walnut finish decorates the entire interior, and the salon is a blueprint of intelligent form and function, utilizing the wide beam to its maximum potential.

From the electrically operated salon door to the pop-up 49-inch HD TV to the day head with cockpit access to the engineered-stone countertops in the galley, the 68 Convertible flows with luxury conveniences and amenities for comfortable onboard livability.

Frameless windows fill the spacious salon with an abundance of natural lighting. Air conditioning flows from hidden registers behind valances to better distribute cooling air and reduce noise. We’ve placed the electrical panel directly inside the companionway door at eye level for quick access and operation.

Open to the salon, the 68 C’s walk-around island galley maximizes space while serving as a prime socializing area that’s loaded with modern conveniences, including Sub-Zero under- counter refrigeration, and pull-out drawers on aircraft-type slide mechanisms that lock in place for safe keeping. Opposite the galley, a large dinette easily accommodates four adults for dinner and additional bar-stool seating is available at the island galley counter.

With a layout that puts the companionway to port, the starboard master stateroom “is nearly the full beam of the boat, which means you have the space for convenient storage areas such as his-and-her hanging lockers and credenzas,” says David. “This is a convenience that’s a difference-maker, one that owners love.” The master includes a queen-size walkaround bed a maple-lined hanging closet with walnut doors, 32-inch HD TV and ensuite head with separate shower.

The forward stateroom has a walkaround queen size bed that lifts to reveal a cavernous stowage compartment below. The starboard and crew staterooms feature upper and lower berths and each is served with a private head and stall shower. The crew quarters are discretely located, accessed via a separate set of steps off the companionway.

Observation mezzanine with port aft facing lounge seating with Sunbrella-covered cushions, hinged seats, tackle cabinet with pullout drawers and bait freezer. Standard amenities in the cockpit also include a one-piece anodized aluminum ladder to the bridge, rounded coamings, recessed stainless-steel hardware, a stereo and speakers, a large lazarette hatch, fresh and saltwater washdown systems, a refrigerated chill box in the salon entrance step so you can stay close to the action throughout the day, a walk-through transom door with lift gate, a molded nonslip fiberglass sole with aluminum plate reinforcement for fighting chair placement, flush rod holders, tackle and gaff stowage, in-deck fishwell with a macerator pump discharge and stowage compartments for gear and an available circulating livewell. For dockside versatility, port and starboard Glendinning Cablemaster shore power cords are provided.

The flying bridge sports a center console helm providing superb visibility to all quarters. Electronic trolling valves allow maximum control on the trolling grounds. Fishing rods stow neatly under port and starboard bench seats, while electronics nest safely beneath a clear acrylic panel on centerline, which keeps them dry in any weather yet always within easy view. Forward of the helm is an additional freezer and bench seat.

While this proven arrangement is a favorite with tournament fishermen, a climate controlled enclosed bridge with a spiral staircase from the salon also is available, a popular plan with cruising yachtsmen. In addition to providing comfort and convenience, the enclosed bridge serves a second salon and private retreat. The forward control station has all the necessary control switches, lighted instrument and engines controls along with VIPER (Viking Independent Programmable Electro-hydraulic Rudder) steering system. A second station is located on the flying bridge overhang for excellent visibility when docking or fishing.

MECHANICALS/ENGINEROOM

The stand-up engine room features Viking’s leading edge powder-coated web-frame structural-steel engine beds, which are mounted on dedicated transversals for vibration-free, engine and drive train alignment. Standard fuel capacity is 2,060 gallons in Viking-made fiberglass fuel tanks, which are nestled in the hull and fiberglassed into place. The tanks mirror the hull bottom to maximize draw and range and in so doing also contribute to hull strength. If desired, fuel capacity can be increased to 2,423 gallons.

As with all Viking yachts, custom electronic packages and tuna towers can be ordered and professionally installed by our sister companies Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers respectively for turn-key delivery and utmost satisfaction and performance.

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115,306 lbs

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