The Viking View- Facetime

Building a Better Boat

Every Day

If you build the finest sportfishing and motor yachts in the world you deserve to be recognized – and that’s exactly what we are going to do. In this Viking View, our shipwrights get some “facetime” as they carry on the Viking mission to build a better boat every day.

Mechanical installer Orlando Virella prepares one of two MTU 10V2000 M96Ls (1622MHP) to be hoisted into the engineroom of a 58 Convertible. The 10-cylinder MTUs and the design of the boat’s running surface combine to deliver a fast, efficient and dry ride with a 42-knot top speed.

Fiberglass finishers Jose Velazquez (top) and Wilson Funes (bottom) bring the fiberglass overhead of a 72 Convertible‘s engineroom to a Bristol finish. The white gelcoat and Awlgrip in our industry-leading enginerooms maximizes visibility and increases the ease of maintenance.

Electrician Barry Kennedy (left) and mechanical engineer Andrew Sterling (right) examine the backside of a portion of the master electrical control panel on a 58 Convertible during a quality-control procedure. The panel resides inside a starboard-side cabinet where it is well-protected but also easily accessed from the salon and cockpit/mezzanine.

Working on the removable backrest frame for a flybridge lounge, Isaac Orellana sands the welds to a smooth finish prior to powder coating. Our flybridges balance form and function, with a center console that gives the captain 360-degree visibility and walk-around access but also a diverse seating selection and ample stowage throughout.

More than 90 percent of every Viking is built in-house, including this 38 Billfish‘s hardtop frame, which is manufactured and prepared for installation in the Metal Shop at Viking. Foreman Evan Bahrle, who has a degree in welding fabrication engineering from Penn State, oversees a team of 20 welders, fabricators and painters.

Step inside the salon of a Viking and you’re immediately taken aback by its exquisite interior woodwork, which is created in the multi-faceted Viking department known as “The Mill.”

This small piece of walnut hardwood is one of about 15 parts that make up the port air conditioning soffit on a 72 Convertible. Finisher and sprayer Jose Lara is flattening the polyester sealer coat in preparation for its satin topcoat.