Viking 44 MY: Thoughts please

[doc g]

Everyone jumps on 671 TIB's . They are not hand grenades like some engines . It all depends on how they're run as any other high performance diesel . Most of the bad rap IMHO is from the 40' ish sportfish crowd who run the piss out of everything and get upset when they scatter. This is where they were used the most . The guys trying to get another knot or two for bragging rights . They are not naturals and can't be run WOT all day but kept at 2100 or less will give very good service . I owned a pair from 100 hours to 1100 hours and never had any problems other than a HE that was probably defective from the get go. I would not avoid a boat that had 671TIB's as long as they were maintained and run properly. One of my old boating buddies used to say, "there are only so many horsepower -hours in there ,you can take all out at once or a little at a time " Get a good engine survey ,talk to the previous owner and see how he ran them ,don't scratch it off the list because of the engines ..............Pat

[Walter P]

Bob,

I think Vikings are fair boats, with some reservations about the stringers etc. I also believe that the 43 series 2 (84-87) MY is a better boat, but what the heck, I'm a dyed in the wool Hatteras guy.

Walt

PS..... You can always threaten to disinherit your son if he buys other than Hatteras...

[bobk]

Many thanks for the good discussion guys. My son (and his wife) would die for my 48MY and he'll probably get it one day, but he has had the hots for a 44 Viking since he saw one at the Annapolis show when he was in his early teens. His boating is on the Chesapeake so the flatter bottom would not be an issue. They are sure popular at BYC.

I'm not sure my son has seen a 43 Hatt series 2 MY, but I'm sure he is following this thread. Maybe he'll have a look at one. Again, thanks for your in-puts.

Regards,
Bob
Chateau de Mer
1981 Series I 48MY

[Pete]

When I was shopping for our Hatt, a surveyor that did an excellent job for me, made some comments to the broker about a Viking sitting next to the boat we were working on. I was not part of the conversation so this is not even second hand info. But, the comment centered around the problems with the use of coring in the Viking hull sides. Ask around and see if there is any merit to the comments. I would not buy, even at a bargain price, a vintage age fiberglass boat with cored hull sides. I do personally know of a current situation with a Viking 43 DC with transom coring problems. Buyer Beware. Be sure you know what you are buying, even the stuff you can not see. I suspect any vintage boat with hull core rot is close to worthless in the market due to repair cost and feasibility. Occasional deck coring problems with Hatts is more than enough for me.

Pete

[dougl33]

Where will he be using it? The 44 is a flat bottomed rough riding creature that loves to stay at the dock. If he is a real boater I'd look elsewhere.

garyd

Not really any flatter than most other Vikings. Deadrise was 15.5 degrees.