Morning comes early at the Viking Yacht facility on the Bass River and the work day ramps up quickly with activity along the make ready dock.

Approaching its delivery date later this month, that is Viking 50940, a 50 Convertible, in the Travelift well with the Sky Trak boom lift safely positioning the fiberglass hardtop with its anodized aluminum framework on the flying bridge.

The Color of Protection

Tape and lots of it is the rule in protecting the polished anodized aluminum of the Palm Beach Towers’ tuna tower freshly installed on Viking 66309, a new 66 Convertible also moving out this month. Viking 42217, a 42 Open, gets similar treatment nearby.

Get it Right, Get it Bright

Valhalla is scheduled to cruise between Cape May and Mays Landing this summer.

Music will fill the air tomorrow night, May 12, at the Winner’s Circle Charities Invitational Rock-n-Roll Gala, headlining The Club at Admirals Cove, Jupiter, Florida. This is the kick-off party for Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman, Mike Schmidt’s fishing tournament scheduled for May 16th through May 19th at the Bimini Bay Resort and Marina in Bimini, Bahamas. In 2001 Mike and several friends developed this fishing tournament as a means to raise money and bring awareness to battle cystic fibrosis, a disease affecting more than 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Mike Schmidt is intimately involved in the fight against CF with the loss of Brett Weinstein, the 22 year-old son of close friends.

The Rock-n-Roll Gala will get things started with great food and music, plus silent and live auctions in numerous categories including technology, jewelry, restaurants, sports and memorabilia, trips and getaways. All boat entries in the tournament include four tickets to the Rock-n-Roll Gala and additional tickets may be purchased. Charitable proceeds generated in this year’s event will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Marine Industry Education Foundation and the Cleveland Clinic of Florida.

There is still time to register and the fishing off Bimini is hot right now. So take advantage of this opportunity to help noble causes, earn a spot in the Winner’s Circle with a tournament win and get out those dancing shoes. Contact WinnersCircleCharities.org for more information, including sponsorship and gift donor opportunities.

Ever wonder what your Viking dream boat would look like? You can find out easily enough by jumping on to our new website vikingyachts.com and checking the Build-a-Boat section. Choose the model of your choice and have some fun outfitting it to your custom needs. The newly designed site is easy to navigate and features all of our models, Viking history, tournament news, and regular updates about life on the Bass River.

Sea trial a Viking

Following our annual Viking Yacht Dealer meeting at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey, we will be hosting a VIP Preview on Tuesday June 26th starting with a cocktail party and a dinner at the Chart House restaurant for dealer sales people attending with customers.

We will have nine new Vikings from 42 to 70 feet including our just launched Viking 55 Convertible in the water at the Farley State Marina available for customer sea trials on Wednesday, June 27th and Thursday June 28th between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Plant tours of the Viking facility in New Gretna also can be arranged during this time. We invite you to contact your Viking dealer, or Gwaldron @vikingyachts.com to arrange a sea trial.

A popular model in our product line, the Viking 60 Convertible is a favorite with both tournament fishermen and our blue-water cruising contingency. Moving through the production stages, Viking 60146 with its beautiful custom Bahama Blue hull is on schedule for delivery in late summer. The main aft resin infused fuel tank serves as the ideal resting place for the slim line mufflers awaiting installation (left). Inside, the galley area (right) begins to take shape with its teak cabinetry.

Over on Line One, an open bridge 76 Convertible slated to premiere at the 2012 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show in October is in its initial wiring stages that will supply power to the several hundred systems throughout the yacht.

The cockpit of 82019, an enclosed bridge convertible is a work in progress. While a Viking tech vacuums the lazarette and the area around the Seakeeper Gyro stabilizer, work on the teak cockpit has begun. The transom live well with its glass front helps to monitor the health of the bait (left). The catch-of-the-day will likely have a date with the electric grill (right). Fresh fish, anyone?

With more than 1,300 visitors a day from around the world including far away countries and places like Ireland, the Slovak Republic, Romania, Cyprus, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa we wanted to feature the boats we build with lots of crisp photography and larger videos to encourage those folks to visit often and stay longer.

Among the many brand new and exciting features in this Viking website edition is our Build-a-Boat section. This allows you to choose any Viking model and peruse our specification pages to select the engines, equipment, accommodations and optional equipment to tailor the build process to your exact needs.

We invite you to explore the new vikingyachts.com site which goes live today.

Click here to read the Spring 2012 Docktales Newsletter!

Waiting for the lid

Moving down Line One, the interior of a new 76 Convertible is rapidly taking shape. The forward modules with the staterooms and heads are in place (left), and behind the boat (right) you can see the deckhouse assembly waiting its turn to join the boat.

Over in the mechanical department, Fred Vassallo, a 32-year Viking veteran fits a pick-up tube into the 1,566 gallon main fuel tank for another 76 Convertible. Viking designs and manufactures all of the fiberglass fuel tanks using a resin infusion method. We also make our own fuel pick-up assemblies.

May Calendar of Viking Events

Strictly Boaters Boat Show
South Jersey Marina, Cape May, New Jersey
May 4 ~ 6

Catawba Island Boat Show
Catawba Island Club, Port Clinton, Ohio
May 4 ~ 6

Keels and Wheels Concours D’Elegance
Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook, Texas
May 5 ~ 6

Boat Asia
Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore
May 12 ~ 15

Winner’s Circle Charities Invitational
Bimini, Bahamas
May 16 ~ 19

Great Lakes Boating Festival
Grosse Point Yacht Club, Grosse Point Shores, Michigan
May 18 ~ 20

Crystal Coast Boat Show
Moorehead City, North Carolina
May 19 ~ 20

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
May 24 ~ 27

There’s still time to register for the Winner’s Circle Charities Invitational fishing tournament hosted by Philadelphia Phillies’ Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt, HMY Yachts and the Marine Industry Education Foundation slated for May 16th through May 19th at the Bimini Bay Resort and Marina in Bimini, Bahamas. This tournament, which Mike created with several friends in 2001 has raised over $1.5 million for research to battle cystic fibrosis, a disease which affects more than 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Mike Schmidt is intimately involved in the fight against CF with the loss of Brett Weinstein, the 22 year-old son of close friends.

A short jump from the South Florida coast, the waters of Bimini are a showcase of angling opportunities, which help make this tournament exciting for all who participate whether fishing from a blue-water battle wagon or a 25-foot center console. Prizes are awarded for both the largest and combined weights of dolphin, wahoo, and tuna, as well as billfish releases, which provide numerous categories to win. A Grand Champion will take home the Brett Weinstein Trophy. But your support makes you a winner just by participating.

Charitable proceeds generated through this year’s event will benefit not only the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, but also the Marine Industry Education Foundation, and the Cleveland Clinic of Florida. All participants in the WCCI also are invited to a kick-off event, the Rock-n-Roll Gala, on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at The Club at Admirals Cove, Jupiter, Florida. There will be great food and music, plus silent and live auctions in numerous categories including technology, health and beauty, restaurants, sports and memorabilia, trips and getaways, jewelry and accessories. All boat entries include four tickets to the Rock-n-Roll Gala, and additional tickets may be purchased.

For more information including sponsorship and gift donor opportunities please visit WinnersCircleCharities.org.

Just add water

Dreary weather yesterday on the Bass River is no match for the enthusiasm and pace at the Viking plant. While production is humming in the plant, our make ready dock is packed to the gills with seven new Vikings that are slated for delivery over the next several weeks (left).

While “up on the hill” another 66 Convertible left the production line on its way to the water. It may be drizzly and overcast now, but in early June when it departs New Gretna for its southern home, the custom built Venezuelan sunshade over the cockpit will come in handy (right).

Catch a Viking star
The Salt Tales, a Viking 42 Open is an official Hollywood debutant, ah, make that a Real Housewives of New Jersey debutant after a cameo appearance on Sunday, April 22 in the Season Four premiere of the popular Bravo television show. Although no call backs about its appearance have yet occurred, we understand Salt Tales’ owners Ken and Deb Hirsekorn, shown here before fame came to town, are considering their options and have signed on as the boat’s manager and agent respectively.