Viking 72 Convertible Buyer's Guide

The viking 72 had to beat a boat owners already loved

Viking's engineering chief put deliveries of the 70 Convertible at 40 since its 2010 introduction (Pat Healey told Marlin 36), and those boats won a great many tournaments. Lonni Rutt, Viking's vice president of design and engineering, described the 72 project as refining one of the most popular boats in company history, and the team spent three years from concept to the first demo. The 72 debuted on the water at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in June 2016 and became one of Viking's most successful large convertibles, with 75 hulls built and sold before the second-generation 74 replaced it.

Sales were strong from the start. Viking had sold 19 boats by the time Yachting magazine tested Hull No. 1, and by the time Power and Motoryacht fished one a few days before the White Marlin Open, there were roughly 40 Vikings entered in that single tournament. The 72 was designed to be the boat those teams wanted next.

Note the name confusion on the brokerage market. Viking also built a 72 Convertible in the early 2000s, an enclosed-bridge boat with 1,800 hp MWM diesels and a 216 square foot cockpit that cruised near 28 knots. It is a completely different hull. This guide covers the 2016 boat unless stated otherwise.

No keel, no fairbody and a much faster hull

Viking reworked the bottom more than the profile. Compared with the 70, the transom deadrise was tweaked, the aft chines were removed to gain usable beam, and the fairbody and keel were deleted in favor of a cleaner V that slips through the water with less drag. The hull was lengthened and the bow freeboard raised to free up volume forward.

Construction moved forward too. The hull is resin infused with Baltek end-grain balsa and Airex foam cores and a Vectorply E-glass and carbon hybrid fabric, bulkheads are vacuum-bagged composites, and aluminum engine saddles replace the steel I-beams Viking used for decades. Pat Healey told Power and Motoryacht the company kept the weight of the 70 in a noticeably larger boat, although he told Marlin the 72 came out 5,000 to 6,000 pounds heavier, and either way the speed numbers prove the hull works.

At around 130,000 pounds the 72 is not light, but it backs down hard, spins on its axis, and tracks well in a following sea. The Gen 2 VIPER system controls each rudder independently, feathering the outside rudder in a turn and trimming both on a straight course, which is a big part of why the boat feels small at the helm.

A 209 square foot cockpit rigged for any style of fishing

Yachting measured the cockpit at 209 square feet. Viking used some of the extra length to deepen it, and the mezzanine is curved, wider at the gunwales than at the centerline, which leaves more room behind the fighting chair for the angler's feet and the wireman. The mezzanine also sits higher than on the 70, so the boxes underneath are bigger and deeper.

Under the mezzanine to port are two refrigerated boxes, one a four-stack rigged-bait box. Engine room access is on centerline, and to starboard is a freezer box fed by the ice maker. A tackle cabinet and rigging station sit on the same level, a drink box hides under the saloon steps, and a lift-out panel under the mezzanine couch gives access to the battery bank without opening the engine room.

In the sole, two insulated in-deck boxes flank the Release Marine fighting chair. Each can be set up as an ice-fed fishbox, a dunnage box, a livewell or with tuna tube inserts. The transom box doubles as a kill box and is plumbed as a livewell, both hatches carry cutting boards underneath, and plugs in the scupper plates connect above-deck livewells to the raw-water system for live-bait sailfish work. The cockpit is wired for electric dredge and kite reels as standard.

• 209 sq ft teak or nonslip cockpit with chair backing plate
• Two in-deck insulated boxes convertible to livewells or tuna tubes
• Transom kill box plumbed as a livewell
• Quick-connect scupper ports for extra on-deck livewells
• Mezzanine with four-stack bait freezer, ice-fed freezer box and tackle station
• Electric dredge and kite reel wiring; some brokerage boats carry 47 ft hydraulic outriggers

Bridge layout, tower and the demo team

Most 72s have the open bridge with a center console helm, three Release helm chairs, a teak pod and a drop-down electronics box in the hardtop. The test boat carried three 19-inch KEP monitors for Furuno NavNet plotter, sonar and radar, plus engine room camera feeds and an Octoplex Gen 2 digital switching touchscreen. An enclosed-bridge version with an interior stair from the saloon was offered for owners who cruise in colder water.

The tower and hardtop come from Viking's Palm Beach Towers subsidiary, with curved cross members that match the hull. Electronics were fitted by Atlantic Marine Electronics, and many brokerage boats now carry Furuno omni sonar, FLIR thermal cameras and Starlink added by second owners.

The Viking demo program is the reason the cockpit works so well. Company captains led by Ryan Higgins run new models on the East Coast billfish circuit before full production, crewed by Viking employees who design and build the boats. On the 2016 shakedown trip off Cape May, the 72 raised 21 white marlin in the Lindenkohl Canyon and released 17.

Four staterooms, crew bunks and a walnut saloon

The saloon opens through a push-button sliding door from the mezzanine. A day head sits to starboard, a U-shaped couch and table to port, and the galley forward has granite counters, two 30-inch Sub-Zero freezer drawers, two refrigerator drawers, a convection microwave and a recessed cooktop. Interiors are mostly American walnut in satin or high gloss.

Below, a short stair at the foot of the companionway leads to crew quarters with two full-size bunks, a private head and shower and the watertight door to the engine room. Forward are the master to port with two hanging lockers and a large bath, a bunk room with its own head, and a VIP in the bow with a raised queen. A five-stateroom plan was available, and most brokerage boats list four staterooms and five heads including the day head.

Headroom runs about 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 7 inches through the accommodations, and the crew cabin forward of the engine room acts as a sound buffer. At 36 knots, conversation in the saloon happens at normal voice levels.

Twin 2,635 hp MTUs and 45-knot sea trials

Every 72 we know of carries the MTU 16V2000 M96L at 2,635 hp with ZF transmissions and VEEM propellers. Yachting recorded an average 37.4-knot cruise at 2,000 rpm and 78 percent load burning 198 gallons per hour, 40 knots at 2,120 rpm, and 45.5 knots at wide open throttle on 258 gallons per hour.

Power and Motoryacht saw 31.5 knots at 1,800 rpm with about 340 nautical miles of range, 38.4 knots at 2,100 rpm with about 304 miles, and 44.4 knots at 2,455 rpm. With 2,594 gallons aboard, a realistic tournament day of 60 to 100 miles each way at 34 to 37 knots leaves plenty in reserve, and Viking's own crew ran a head sea at an easy 32 knots on the way to the canyon.

The engine room has standing headroom, room between the mains and twin 29 kW Cummins Onan generators. A Seakeeper 26 sits in a dedicated centerline compartment forward of the lazarette, serviced through a deck hatch.

Running costs and the 72 Viking for sale market

A 72 is a crewed boat. Expect roughly $550,000 to $950,000 a year with a full-time captain and mate, insurance, dockage, fuel and MTU service. The 16V2000 is a proven engine, but major services, Seakeeper refreshes and gear overhauls on a boat this size add up fast.

Pricing for the viking 72 for sale is predictable because 75 boats make a real market. Early 2016 and 2017 hulls with higher hours trade in the high $3 million to mid $4 million range, 2020 and 2021 boats around $6 million to $7.5 million, and the last hulls higher still. One-owner boats with documented crew maintenance, fresh sonar and Starlink, and a Seakeeper that has been serviced on schedule sell first.