Yachts

Viking 62EB Photo Gallery

A test on rough seas proves Viking’s 62 Enclosed Bridge was born to chase big fish in blue water.

By Patrick Sciacca

Updated: May 6, 2013

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Solid, white-topped six-footers, compliments of steady 20-plus-knot winds, greeted our three-man crew as we entered the Atlantic Ocean. Beneath us was the Viking 62 Enclosed Bridge, which is 94,025 pounds of full-on fishing machine powered by optional twin 12-cylinder, 1,925 horsepower Caterpillar C32A diesels. Cresting waves rolled toward the bow as my test vessel punched through the sea and smashed them into misty bits like a crab hammer does to a blue claw. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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She easily cruised headlong into the slop at 24 knots. Viking’s captain, Ryan Higgins, and I discussed the virtues of the enclosed bridge while some spray kissed the wraparound glass. She tracked true, which may have been helped by refined prop tunnels featuring a softer radius and shortened length than previous designs. This vessel ran effortlessly at 30 knots down-sea in the mess too. Over the last few years, Viking has increased the convex nature of its hulls to enhance their seakindliness, and this 62 Enclosed Bridge features more shape than any other model I’ve tested. When you look up along her profile from the transom, you see quite a bit of curve in there with some noticeable flare as well. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The 62 has a fine, wave-slicing entry and sports a 7-foot-7-inch forward freeboard, which is 15 inches higher than it is on the builder’s 60-footers. This should help keep most of the spray at bay. She also features a flush foredeck, thanks to that raised sheer, and it really adds to the boat’s aggressive appearance. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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Another important part of this yacht’s performance is ensuring optimal speed when conditions allow. Viking looked to mitigate underwater drag to help make this happen, which meant building her sans keel. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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Another drag-reducing move required fitting the 62’s engine pickups flush with the hull. This vessel also incorporates two lifting strakes per side, which is a feature that Viking started on its 42- and 55-foot models. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The builder even enhanced the yacht’s underwater surface area. On past models, there would be a knuckle at the port and starboard aft corners under the waterline. They have been removed, and the hull surface is carried full beam all the way aft. It’s a planing hull form too, and the 62’s aft deadrise is a relatively flat 10 degrees. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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Once Viking had the hull design in place, it was time to ensure it could get the lightest weight, strongest boat possible. To that end, she features a Baltek-core, resin-infused hull with Kevlar, carbon fiber and knitted fiberglass. Airex foam core is used above the waterline. This boat comes with a Seakeeper M26000 gyrostabilizer option, which means from the vessel’s transom to her engine-room bulkhead, the laminate has been beefed up to support it. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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Other weight-saving measures include using encapsulated foam-core fiberglass stringers, constructing the yacht’s deckhouse from carbon fiber and building the raised-panel teak cabinetry with super-lightweight Nomex honeycomb coring. From the Awlgrip-coated engine room to those cabinets, everything on the 62 features a flawless finish. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The devil is in the details, and this builder proved it didn’t miss one in this yacht’s design, something I realized as I put the 62 through her paces. Lake Worth showed us a scalloped surface as Higgins revved the big Cats up to 2,000 rpm and the 62 displayed a smooth transition to plane with minimal bow rise. My test vessel made an average cruise speed of 36.2 knots while her diesels consumed 150 gph. Even more impressive than her hair-removing velocity was the fact that engine load was just 68 percent. This 62 featured 2,155 gallons of fuel capacity, which included 350 optional gallons. At this speed, she has a 467 nautical mile (nm) range, which is more than enough for that run out to the canyons and back. In addition, her quick nature ensures you’ll always be in front of the Bimini-start crowd on tournament day. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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At wide-open throttle, this sport-fisherman seems to quantum-leap across the sea at an average top hop of 42.1 knots, which will cost you 188 gph and reduce your range to 433 nm. The Cat engine displays showed only 92 percent load at this speed, so there may be another knot or so in her. Performance has always been a hallmark of the Viking brand, but so has fishability. That’s because from the owner on down, the people who build these boats campaign them and fish hard. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The 62 sports 172 square feet of workable fish-fighting space, which leaves plenty of room for your offset fighting chair. Two in-sole fish boxes can easily hold several of your biggest bigeye tuna. These spaces can also be compartmentalized and made into in-deck livewells. There’s a sizable in-transom box for those torpedo-size wahoo and bull dolphin. This sport-fisherman’s portside mezzanine seating gives the crew a great view of the trolling spread while also providing a tournament’s worth of dead-bait stowage under it. Custom-fit bait trays are also available for the mezzanine freezer. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The 62 has eye-catching looks, a blue-water build and grander-chasing capability, and she easily accommodates a sizable crew. This yacht can be outfitted as a three- or four-stateroom vessel. In either layout, there are three heads. My test boat featured the four-stateroom setup, which means a starboard-side athwartship master with a king-size walk-around berth. The forepeak VIP has a step-up queen berth, but it can be equipped with crossover berths instead. Two guest cabins are located to port and abaft the VIP. One features bunks while the second offers side-by-side berths. In the three-stateroom layout, the bunk stateroom abaft the VIP to port is eliminated and made into an en suite head, which was to starboard in the other setup. This, in turn, allows more space on the starboard side for a larger en suite head in the master stateroom. You can easily sleep a six- to eight-man crew. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The 62’s comfort equation adds up to big relaxation in the salon and galley spaces. My test vessel had an internal spiral stairway in the salon leading to the enclosed bridge. Her galley featured a peninsula-style granite countertop with two fixed-mount stools. Four undercounter Sub-Zero drawers (two fridges, two freezers) provide plenty of cold stowage. An L-shaped lounge and dinette to port offers abundant seating. Courtesy Viking Yachts

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The galley’s Amtico sole blends with the high-gloss teak cabinetry (satin finish is also available), headliner accent strips, light-tone salon carpet and LED lighting to warm up the space. My vessel’s interior also had optional crown molding, which added a sophisticated finish. Viking has been building sport-fishing boats for 49 years. It has learned lessons from each model it created and has always strove to build the next one even better. The 62 Enclosed Bridge represents the accumulated knowledge and experience that the builder has absorbed to date. And if the look, performance and layout of this yacht are any indication, the future for this model and the ones to come is very bright. But if you’re a marlin, be worried. Viking Yachts, 609-296-6000; vikingyachts.com Courtesy Viking Yachts

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Going Topless **
** The Viking 62 Enclosed Bridge is a fine fishing platform, but some people prefer their sport-fishermen with open bridges. For those wind-in-your-hair enthusiasts, Viking offers the 62 Convertible. She is built on the same platform as the Enclosed Bridge, which is a $134,885 upgrade with just a few differences. The open version has an option for an island galley, which isn’t possible on the Enclosed Bridge because of the salon’s internal stairway. In addition, the upper helm on the Convertible features a Palm Beach helm setup with three helm chairs. A ladder offers transit between the helm and the cockpit. The 62 Enclosed Bridge has a portside bench seat for two. In either setup, the ride, fishability and performance are equal. It’s really just a matter of preference. Which one will you choose? — P.S.