Viking 55 Convertible Buyer's Guide to the 1997 Original and the 2012 Remake

One name, two very different 55 Vikings

Type 55 viking for sale into any listing site and you will get two boats that share nothing but a length and a badge. The first Viking 55 Convertible debuted at the Fort Lauderdale show in 1997 (some magazine accounts date the launch to 1996), and Viking's own history calls it the groundbreaking boat that set the standard for the modern convertible. Viking had sold 20 before the first one was shown. The second boat is a clean-sheet design that Viking launched in the summer of 2012, a resin-infused, Baltek-cored 56-footer that Power and Motoryacht said was selling like hotcakes, with eight delivered within a few months.

Knowing which one you are looking at matters more than anything else on this page. A late-1990s 55 is a well-proven tournament hull that now costs roughly what a new 40-foot express does. A 2013 to 2015 boat is a modern 40-knot convertible priced in the millions. They fish the same water but they are not substitutes, and a buyer who confuses the two will either overpay for an old boat or underestimate what a newer one costs to own.

The 1997 original that rebuilt Viking's reputation

The first 55 arrived at a pivotal moment. Viking had been flattened by the 1991 federal luxury tax, which cut its workforce from 1,500 to fewer than 80, and the 55 was the boat that Pat Healey pushed his father Bill to build: a convertible with custom-boat features built on a production schedule. Viking's brochure called it the company's 31st in-house design. Marlin later wrote that 115 were sold during its five-year run, while Power and Motoryacht and Yachting both put the total above 150; the gap probably reflects how each counted late hulls, and either way it was one of the most successful big convertibles of its era.

The original brochure lists a length of 55 feet 10 inches, a 17-foot 4-inch beam, a 4-foot 10-inch draft, a gross weight of 68,800 pounds, 1,250 gallons of fuel, 250 gallons of water and a 153 square foot cockpit. The bottom was solid fiberglass reinforced by interlocking bulkheads and stringers, with a one-piece deck, superstructure and cockpit liner bonded to the hull and fiberglass fuel tanks. Viking also used steel engine beds on dedicated intermediate bulkheads to keep the drivetrain aligned.

Salt Water Sportsman's account of a tournament run to Veatch Canyon describes what owners still like: a hull whose deadrise works back to 15.5 degrees at the transom, a sharply raked entry, and a deckhouse tapered inward so spray is pulled astern instead of onto the bridge. The writer noted the boat loafing at 33 knots in moderate seas and settling to 22 knots in big ones without drama.

• LOA 55 ft 10 in, beam 17 ft 4 in, draft 4 ft 10 in (1997 brochure)
• Gross weight 68,800 lb, fuel 1,250 gal, water 250 gal
• Cockpit 153 sq ft with molded transom fishbox and in-sole refrigerated box
• Three staterooms and two heads, amidships master with walk-around queen

What the 2012 redesign changed

Viking's second 55 was a reimagining rather than a facelift. Power and Motoryacht's first look put the overall length at 56 feet 5 inches with a 17-foot 9-inch beam and a 5-foot 1-inch draft, and quoted a $2.3 million base price with twin 1,400 hp MAN V12s. The hull is vacuum infused with Baltek coring, except where through-hull penetrations pass through solid glass, and Viking used modified polyester resins with a vinylester barrier coat against blistering. Yachting described amplified convex sections forward and aft for head-sea comfort and stability on the drift, plus two small strakes that help the boat get on plane.

A note on published numbers: one magazine test box repeats the 1997 boat's 55-foot 10-inch length and 17-foot 4-inch beam alongside 2012 data. Treat any spec sheet that mixes those figures with caution, and measure the boat you are buying.

Cockpit, mezzanine and bridge on the newer boat

The 2012 cockpit measures about 151 square feet without the mezzanine, according to Power and Motoryacht, and comes with raw and fresh water washdowns, four rod holders, an in-deck fishbox and a space that can be a livewell, extra stowage or an ice chipper. Yachting's test boat had bigeye-size in-sole boxes that could be plumbed as livewells or fed by the ice maker, Rupp outriggers and a Release offset fighting chair. The mezzanine carries seating, tackle storage and a step-box cooler, and mezzanine air conditioning was an option worth looking for on boats that fish the tropics.

Viking fitted tuna tubes in the transom of every new boat of this period and built them to order. The transom is bowed outward, which helps the boat back down quickly and lets the chair swing without rods fouling the corners.

On the bridge, buyers chose a peninsula console from the port side or the more popular island console. Sightlines are excellent. Power and Motoryacht's tester did flag two safety gaps on the boat he ran: an aft-facing starboard seat with no railing behind it and an open ladder hole with no hatch or rail. Check whether the boat you are looking at has had both addressed.

Three staterooms that suit a tournament crew

Both generations use a three-stateroom, two-head plan. On the 2012 boat the salon has an L-shaped settee aft and a galley forward with a granite bar as either a peninsula or an island; high-gloss or satin teak was offered. The amidships master has a queen berth and an en suite head with a large shower and seat. The forepeak VIP takes either a queen or crossover bunks, and the crossover arrangement was the more popular choice. A third cabin to port has bunks and extra stowage.

The 1997 boat follows the same logic: an amidships master with a walk-around queen and private head, a forward cabin with a queen or an optional upper single over a lower double, an en suite guest head shared with the third cabin, and a starboard bunk room with a walk-in cedar locker. A washer and dryer near the companionway stairs was available, and on many used boats it has been added since.

Twin MANs and the test numbers

Standard power on the 2012 generation was a pair of 1,400 hp MAN V12s, and most buyers took the optional 1,550 hp MAN V12 1550s. Power and Motoryacht said engine packages at launch ran from 2,720 to 3,600 total horsepower. With the 1,550s, its December 2012 test recorded 41.6 knots at 2,356 rpm on 156 gph and 34.6 knots at 2,000 rpm on 110 gph, carrying 1,237 gallons of fuel. Yachting saw 42 knots with the same engines and a 33.5-knot cruise.

Displacement on the test boat was 77,000 pounds dry, and twin 20 kW Onan generators were fitted. The tester singled out how hard the props bit when backing down and how the boat turned at 35 knots in under two boat lengths with independent rudders.

Viking has not published test data for the original 1997 boat in a form we could verify, so treat any first-generation speed claims as boat-specific and ask for a recent sea trial log.

What a 55 costs to keep fishing

A second-generation 55 run by an owner with a part-time mate typically costs $180,000 to $350,000 a year before depreciation: insurance, a 60-foot slip, two big MAN services and periodic overhauls, generator and air conditioning upkeep, bottom work, electronics and fuel. At Power and Motoryacht's measured 110 gph at 34.6 knots, every 100 running hours is about 11,000 gallons of diesel, so tournament mileage moves the total quickly.

First-generation boats insure and dock for less but carry the costs of age. Exhaust systems, wiring, air conditioning, teak joinery and fuel system components are 25 years old or more, and many boats have been repowered. A documented repower or major refit is worth more to a buyer than cosmetic upgrades, and it is the main reason two 1998 boats can be $150,000 apart.