The Viking 92 EB is the culmination of the family-owned company’s 50-year history.
Four or so years ago, Patrick Healey, President, and CEO of Viking Yachts, was in Ocean City, Maryland, aboard a customer’s 115-foot motoryacht. “He owned one of our sportfishing boats as well, and I really enjoyed the spaciousness of being on the kind of yacht that allowed a large group to hang in the country kitchen, entertain others in the main salon, and allow the owners to sit outside with more guests on the aft deck area.” the idea for the Viking 92 EB was born.
The concept impressed Healey so much that he and Viking’s Design Manager, Dave Wilson, and Capt. Ryan Higgins, Viking’s South East Sales Manager, and demo skipper, also along on the visit, had a shared moment. There the Viking 92 EB was first conceived.
Design and engineering took cues from the highly successful Viking 82C. With a $7+ million per year investment in R&D, the two and a half year project culminated in a nine-month build schedule. The Viking 92 EB was the dockside crown jewel in Viking’s recent 50th Anniversary celebration and dealer meeting held in Atlantic City this past September.
The first thing I noticed about the 92 EB is how well proportioned she looks. “It was one of the primary directives, to make her look as good and well balanced whether dockside or out at sea,” says Wilson. Fantastic is a more apt description.
“With the 92 EB we can attract some folks from the larger yachts who also owned a smaller sportfishing boat and want to scale down to just one,” says Higgins. Scaling down to this 92-foot yacht, however, is hardly a sacrifice.
The Viking 92 EB incorporates large yacht features yet keeps intact the successful fish amenities found on all Viking open convertibles and enclosed bridge models. Standard features include an impressive full-service galley, free-standing dining table space, six-stateroom layout, full-beam master with his-and-her heads, walk-in closets, separate crew quarters aft with lounge and galley, a bridge deck that is as good as it gets, and the kind of storage spaces throughout that accommodate long trips away from home. Layout options are flexible.
For example, the pantry on the main deck’s starboard side can be converted into another stateroom. Indeed, on Hull #2, the owner is eliminating the free-standing dining table and reworking the salon layout along with the his-and-her heads by making one side a walk-in closet with the other a special locker design. The owner of Hull #3 included a dinette area inside.
To say the least, the interior fit and finish along with the décor package is as tastefully and well done as I’ve seen on any vessel of her class—and then some. The team paid special attention to the aft deck for an outdoor dining area. The variation on the theme incorporated the mezzanine area and created two levels—a yacht aft deck and a separate fishing mezzanine with seating, livewell, and refrigeration for the massive business end of the 92 EB, the lower cockpit. Fishing crews will utilize this space to be serious competitors in any tournament event.
Aiding that ability is her amazing performance—Captain Higgins had her up and running at a cruise speed of 30 knots with a fast cruise of 32, and she topped out at an impressive 37.2 knots at 2450 rpm in troubling four-to-six foot seas, and into the wind and current. During backing down maneuvers she pirouetted like a prima ballerina. In fact, I actually had to look out at the conditions to remind me we were in this kind of turbulent water. Of course, the Seakeeper M35 Gyro was of great help in keeping us rock steady.
“We’re 200,000+ pounds with full fuel and water,” explains Higgins in the noticeable quiet of the enclosed bridge. “But that all goes to our design and engineering teams with our resin-infused hull and deckhouse reinforced with carbon fiber, Nomex honeycomb in many of the interior panels for weight saving, and along with the hull bottom featuring flush and recessed engine pickups. To help further eliminate drag reduction, we eliminated the keel resulting in a straight V.”
Equal attention was given to the engine room space, which allows total access to every piece of equipment, pump, valve, connection, switch, filter, and any other critical area that needs attention and maintenance. On the Viking 92 EB the components normally found in an engine room that sometimes make for a rather tight space have been allocated to a dedicated space known as the mechanical room. Here one finds—again with complete access and serviceability—the ice chipper, AC power converter system, refrigeration units, compressors, cable masters, centralized water system, and generators. And, of course, access to the mains is accommodated in order to perform total critical engine maintenance with complete ease and accessibility. Another big yacht feature is that aforementioned AC power converter system. It gives the 92 EB complete and worldwide dockside abilities with single-phase, three-phase, 50Hz, 60Hz plug-in abilities.
“We’re a big team and along with our design and engineering folks, we left nothing to chance with this boat,” comments Higgins. “I get to see a lot of reactions when we introduce a new model, and the response to this one has been nothing but spectacular. Once you take the wheel and realize how maneuverable she is, I notice a feeling of complete confidence quickly settles in over whoever is at the helm, whether around the dock or heading out to sea.”
With all the advances Viking has incorporated in its past designs and all the developments integrated into the 92 EB, she will be sure to influence the next yacht, which is, assuredly, already on the drawing board at the New Gretna, New Jersey, headquarters. “It’s been that way for 50 years,” says Healey. “And there is no reason to change that at all. It’s something my father and my uncle, the founders of the company, always held true: We’ll build a better boat every day.”
By Ken Kreisler, Southern Boating November 2014
