The new Viking 76 Convertible, which marks its world premiere Oct. 29-Nov. 2 at the 50th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, arrived at the company’s Riviera Beach, Fla., service center Wednesday afternoon after a 3-1/2 day steam down the East Coast.
The convertible left Absecon Inlet in Atlantic City, N.J., around 1 p.m. Sunday, after taking a customer on a sea trial with winds gusting from the northeast at 35 knots, creating huge swells in the inlet and seas ranging 10 to 12 feet in the Atlantic. The new boat performed as expected during its morning demo ride and, according to Viking, the deal on hull No. 3 was sealed.
After dropping off its customer at the Trump Marina dock, Capt. Ryan Higgins and his Viking delivery team cast off the lines and headed back out and took a south heading.
The new Viking features an open bridge configuration; a 206-square-foot cockpit with an observation mezzanine and a five-stateroom, five-head layout. The boat is powered with a pair of 2,400-mhp MTU Series 2000 V16 engines. The new model will join a fleet of 12 other Viking Yachts from 46 to 82 feet at its D-dock in-water display.
