Would love to hear pros and cons on 54' & 60' sport yachts

My wife and I loved to cruise. We did so up and down the east coast for 7 years before a combination of the recession and hurricanes got us out of boating. Always had the hazard of the schedule on board and we made do with a 49' Albin and then a 43' Tradewinds, but we loved every single day on the water. Now we have a chance to get back into boating.

We want to go north (New England) in the summer and move back to Ga. or SC in the winters. Our budget is bigger these days, but our bones and sea legs a little less willing to be beaten up. Here are my questions.

If I had my way, I'd be aiming at something like a Fleming or Offshore or Selene. My wife is wanting a little more condo appeal. It's her money. Fuel costs will hurt, but won't rule out these larger engines. We both love the 54' & 60' Viking Sport Yachts (1995 - 2000) for different reasons. I love the lines and the look of these boats and I suspect that with Viking's fish-boat tradition that these should be great boats when things get a little sloppy. My wife loves the condo appeal of their aft deck, the salon, as well as the lush state rooms. We both enjoy piloting from the fly-bridge and these vessels have all the comforts up there.

There will be no schedule on board this time, but you can never tell when things will get a little snotty. How do these boats handle in 4-6 foot sloppy seas? Why are there so few with stabilizers on this model? Are stabilizers not as effective at the higher speed? I have never had a stabilized vessel, but have heard that speed improves their performance. I have seen many of the 61-65 foot Viking Motor Yachts with stabilizers, why not in the Sport Yacht?

I would really appreciate the thoughts of anyone owning or having experience with the Sport Yacht models.

Sorry I didn't get back to review the responses earlier. Thanks to everyone for commenting. Yes, the model listed above by Pascal is the model that I was referring to. And the 54 is the same boat without the cockpit.

It now makes a lot more sense why these planing model hulls do not benefit from stabilizers, although I had found one of the 60' Viking models with Naiad stabilizers.

I agree with you on all accounts about the 54 vs. the 60. I love the clean look of the vessel with the cockpit as well as your other points. There is one 54 available currently however that has much lower hours and is really exceptional on the boat porn site! lol

http://www.**************/boats/199...9496/Vero-Beach/FL/United-States#.WDCG2FxXlQ-

I am a few (maybe several) months away from making the jump, so many of these boats won't be available when I do move. Pascal prefers the flush deck and I can see his point. I am just very comfortable with the aft deck configuration because it is what I have been used to and we loved that large, very open, aft deck area in our Chinese Marine Trader. I know, the similarities between these vessels pretty well end there at the aft deck. Looking at the cabinetry, the systems, the stainless, the roominess, this looks to be a Tradewinds on steroids.

I have a lot of investigating to do between now and when I pull the trigger. Living in the mid-west, with family concerns, I am in no good place to get real on-board experience. I have a couple friends in the industry who I will lean on when the time comes as well as taking time and investment in a team of surveyors.

Point well taken.

Thank so much for writing of your experiences motoryachtlover. That was exactly the type of information that I was looking for. I've probably got a dozen + questions for you.... Your experience is so valuable. I would appreciate any response.

I have read where many owners of the larger boats with the larger engines cruise at a lower RPM (as long as the temperature is near the cruising temp) and then take the RPM up to 80% load every 5-6 hours or at the end of the day. Is this something you have used on your 54? Or is this theory false economy on the 54 hull because it pushes too much water when it does not get up on plane?

I am an old fart. I probably will own the next boat 5-6 years (if all goes well) before it is time to sell. Fuel cost won't be the determining factor with me, but as I put together a kind of performa for owning a boat for 5-6 years, paying $30,000 per year to the oil companies (for 200 hours of annual operation) is money that you never get back. $30k X 6 years = $180k vs. $5000 on a Selene or OA, etc.

On the Man's ... I am also reading the cost and importance of their 1000 and 2000 hour services. I have heard that some owners feel the need to have the 1000 hour service completed every 2 years despite the hours? What is your experience?

Also, do you get a dramatic vibration at trolling speed and do you get a lot of smoke at idle speed?

You have a great boat sir. Your testimony encourages me. Thank you again for sharing your experience.

Thank you guys. Great points about the time variable, Man service and the fuel usage at hull speed. Time was always my enemy when I cruised before. Trying to run a business and the neccesary travel back and forth from the mid-west to the coast were both getting in the way of my cruising. I will not let time enter the equation this time around. I love watching the world go by at 8-9 knots! That is all I have known.

I am pretty ill informed, really ignorant, about the cruising experience on anything above about 35,000 lb. displacement. I'm sure it shows. It has to be great to get that extra stability on a boat displacing twice that and more. And how much better would stabilizers effect a day cruising off the coast?

I greatly appreciate your input. I am also extremely curious about the real experience that motoryachtlover, has had on his 54' Viking. Does he actually run his boat at hull speed? And with all the cautions that I have read about Man vibrations at lower rpm's and their smoking and the expense of their repair, I'd just love to hear someone say, yeah I've got one of those and that is how I operate and it has worked for me.

I should not have used the OA as an example. The Selenes though, that I have been salivating over on yacht world are equipped with either twin 225hp Deeres or a single 330 to 375hp. Should be able to cruise at less than 10 gph on those don't you think. (10 gph x 200 hours x 2.50/gal. = $5000)