1976 Viking Motor Yacht

1975 Viking 43' Dbl Cabin with twin crusader engines with less than 400 hrs since replaced in 2018 makes this

the perfect liveaboard for the active boater. Owner currently keeps the boat at Glenview Marina for the winter

than takes it down to the Chesapeake to enjoy as a weekend getaway with his current slip for the season is only $3500

With any exactness the dimensions that a yacht should have to provide a desired degree of livability. Partly this is a matter of taste: a single yacht may be described as cramped, comfortable, or even commodious, depending on who is describing it. Partly, however, it is a matter of intelligent design, making the best possible use of the dimensions available. Certainly, the Viking 43 Double Cabin qualifies as a commodious cruising yacht by almost any standard, and while dimensions of 42'-8" by 14'-9" beam may seem ample for the purpose, actually a great deal of skill is required to realize the full potential of the dimensions. Before we get into the details of the 43's interior layout, however, let's get a bit more familiar with the boat as a whole. To begin with, the 43 has a most distinctive profile. The sheer line in profile is of unmistakable "sportfish" derivation. high reverse sheer forward, dropping down to a straight and nearly level line aft in the 40 region of what would be the cockpit in a conventional sportfishing design. Above the sheer, however, the profile shows little if any sportfish influence. The deckhouse. not overly high in itself, is set rather severely towards amidships on top of a fairly high and very extensive trunk. The after cabin trunk is well crowned, and extends over the full beam of the yacht. while the forward trunk extends to within seven feet of the stem, with adequately wide side decks. Taken together, the top line of the trunk is nearly straight, and in combination with the marked fisherman sheer, the appearance of the 43 in profile is quite innovative. A very restrained clipper bow completes the look, and altogether the yacht has a high aspect, if not unduly so. contributing greatly to the feeling of spaciousness below. And spaciousness is indeed the key word. The companionway leads from the afterdeck to a very large salon, measuring about 9% by 11½ feet. Cabinet space abounds, both port and starboard, and the lower The appearance of the Viking 43 in profile is quite innovative from its very restrained clipper bow to the after cabin trunk which extends the full beam of the yacht. The deckhouse, though not overly high in itself, is set on a very extensive trunk, giving an attractive look and contributing to the feeling of spaciousness below. An excellent cruising design, well planned and well built, where the key words are spaciousness and versatility. The Viking 43 provides easy sleeping accommodations for eight in a unique and capable hull design. By Mark Roberts control station occupies surprisingly little of the living space forward on the starboard side. Access to the after cabin is via a passage to starboard of the companionway, down three steps. If the salon is spacious, the aft cabin is enormous, measuring no lessthan 11½ feet fore and aft, and extending the full beam of the yacht (that wide after trunk yielding usable space both below and topsides). A full size head compartment with stall shower occupies the forward port corner of the cabin. With shelves port and starboard, combined with a large locker to starboard and a hanging locker under the companionway, plus stowage under the berths, storage is certainly more than ample. Forward of the salon, neatly railed off and dropped three steps, is a most convenient dinette to port and galley area to starboard. The dinette itself is very open and light, seats six, and converts to a double berth. The galley is U-shaped, fully equipped, and fitted with convenient stowage for associated gear. Yet another large locker space opens forward off the dinette. The three-hatch foredeck arrangement provides separate opening hatches for the dinette and galley areas, and located as they are on top of that amply high forward trunk, they should be quite dry even when underway in a fair chop. Going forward again, a short passage provides access to the forward stateroom. Normally, I find the word "stateroom" a bit pretentious for a roughly triangular space crammed up in the eyes of a boat and almost completely filled with vee-berths, but in this case it is a more than appropriate term. A full head compartment, again with stall shower, occupies the port side between the forward bulkhead of the dinette and the port vee-berth, with access from both the forward cabin and the passageway. A large vanity and cabinet completes the starboard side of the forward living space, while yet another capacious locker opens off the starboard side of the passageway leading aft to the galley-dinette. The quality of fittings and joinerwork is exceptional throughout. If this description of the 43's accommodations has been extensive. I feel it is justified if only to give some idea of the space and versatility of the arrangement. Total sleeping accommodation of the 43, with convertible sofa in the salon and dinette converted to double berth, is an easy eight. Returning topside, the deck arrangement is as pleasing as the interior. The after deck is high, wide, and well-cambered, and all deck surfaces are fiberglass textured down to resemble wood grain, an artifice that vields excellent footing when wet and an attractive appearance at all times. Access to the side decks is novel, featuring a diagonally placed step at each forward corner of the after trunk. The diagonal placement of the step gives a good wide riser to put your feet on when hurrying forward and is an altogether good idea. The foredeck is very open, and the top of the forward trunk is an excellent sun deck in itself. 1, for one, am not troubled at all by the lack of a molded-in foredeck seat. Access to the flybridge is via a short ladder from the afterdeck. The bridge is exceptionally large and well thought out, with seats forward and to starboard of the control station. By the way, both the upper station and the optional lower station were fully instrumented, convenient, and yet quite compact in overall size, thus intruding (Please turn page) AUGUST 1975 Two views at the top show the very large salon. Cabinet space abounds, and the lower control station, in view at left, occupies very little of the living space. Photo at right, looking aft from the dinette, gives some idea of the spaciousness of the craft. Going away view of left shows aft deck and effectiveness of spray chines, due both to their width and placement. Spray is knocked down flat. Both the upper station, pictured above right, and the lower station were fully instrumented, convenient, and yet quite compact, thus intruding very little into space around them. Photo at lower right shows easy access to bridge, salon, and the novel, diagonally placed steps to the side deck which give a good, wide riser to put your feet on when hurrying forward. Aft cabin, lower left, is enormous, extending the full width of the yacht. A full size head compartment with stall shower occupies the forward port corner ofthe cabin. 41 quite little into the space around them. Visibility from the upper station is of course completely unobstructed; from the lower station, forward visibility is quite good, and visibility on the quarters is broken only by the afterparts of the deckhouse structure. Our test boat, R-Boat-Too. was the second 43 off the line, appearing at the Cleveland show. (LB's thanks are due to Dr. John Redding and family for allowing us the run of the yacht.) In the engine room were a pair of 350 Crusaders driving 23" x 21" cupped wheels through a 2:1 reduction. The engine installation, in keeping with the rest of the layout, was extremely well laid out, very spacious, and with good access for all inspection and maintenance chores. Added safety factors, which should never be overlooked in a yacht of this type, were the provision of four separate bilge and engine compartment blowers, and full drip pans under each engine. (Diesel options include Caterpillar 3208's, Detroit 6-71's, and Cummins 903's.) Running out of Port Clinton, Ohio, Lake Erie was showing hardly a hint of the roughness it is sometimes capable of, with seas running less than a foot, so it was impossible to judge the 43's rough water abilities. However, the boat's response to pitch and heave impulses (for example. crossing wakes) was very good, while in beam and oblique seas the rolling motion was very moderate, a fast enough roll to inspire confidence, but quite smooth. The spray chines are very effective due both to their width and placement, knocking the spray down flat. A word about the Viking 43's hull form is in order here. The deadrise at the transom is fully 170, which is quite deep for a largish cruiser. However, she is not a conventional deep-vee, as there is a narrow flat of bottom extending about two-thirds of the length forward from the transom, with hollow garboards and similarly concave panels outboard from the keel. The effect is to give the hull some of the characteristics of multi-chined hulls without sacrificing the rough water abilities of the sharpbottomed deep-vee. Even with the lightseas running at the time, it was easy to see that the 43 is going to be a very sweet riding boat in a healthy chop. The Hynautic steering system was fairly heavy for a hydraulic unit, but also very precise, and the boat's response to the helm was exceptionally quick for a vessel of this size. In hard, full throttle turns, the 43 rounded with no quirks of any sort, and the turn can be reeled in to quite a small diameter without any trace of excess banking or cavitation on the outside screw. The engines, equipped with the standard mufflers, were very quiet and responsive, 42 Bow on view of the Viking 43 shows part of her deep vee hull form. Boat's response to pitch and heave impulses were very good: hollow garboards and similarly concave panels outboard from the keel give the hull some of the characteristics of multi-chined hulls without sacrificing the rough water abilities of the deep vee. View, top left, shows cheery warmth and spaciousness of dinette. Forward stateroom, pictured below, is proper sized; and a full head compartment, with stall shower, occupies the port side between the forward bulkhead of the dinette and the port vee berth, with access from both the forward cabin and the passageway. although the throttles were a bit stiff for my taste. Speed figures for cruising boats are a bit moot, since the actual performance will vary greatly with optional gear and owner's equipment weights. However, we got a chance to test out a brand new boat and found a creditable 22 mph at a very conservative 3000 rpm, running light. This would indicate a top speed in the neighborhood of 30 mph, depending on load, at the Crusaders' rated 4200 rpm. So, to wrap it up, the Viking 43 is an excellent cruising design, well planned and well built, and with a long list of standard equipment, she is also a bargain. END HULL SPECIFICATIONS Length overall: 42'8"; Beam: 14'9"; Draft: 3'9"; Freeboard: 5'8" for'd, 4'0" aft; Displacement: 34,000 lbs. ENGINES Twin Crusader 350's; Rated horsepower rpm: 350/4200; Reduction: 2:1 PROPELLERS Type: three-blade; Diameter: 23"; Pitch: 21" CAPACITIES Fuel: 300 gal.; Water: 126 gal. LAKELAND BO

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