Viking moves ahead while Hatteras sinks

Despite my thing for motoryachts I find the sportfishes very attractive. Perfect boat for us except for climbing a ladder to the flybridge and the narrow side decks for accessing the bow are a no go for my wife. Add stairs to the bridge and railing all the way back to the cockpit and then I am interested. I like the big bow of a SF for hauling a big dingy. Maritimo and Riviera have some designs that appeal to me but am having a hard time gauging their quality.

Check out the Mikelson 43's and 50's. Great combination of sportfish performance with safe bow access and stairs to the flybridge. Most have dinghies on the large foredeck. I have a Mikelson 43, so I admit to some bias.

Then his X-Yacht was a fluke, or it was one of the not so great X-Yachts.

Joke aside with full tower or an enclosed bridge they do not look great. But with an open hard-top and outriggers most look sweet.
my 2 cent*

Viking above 50 feet can be custom ordered with a build in stair case to the flybridge.
I am sure they did this to a 50 (when the model was produced) and one of the newer 58s.
As for extended railing they are a common order for West coast and European builds.

I did see one 50 Viking SF with stairs. I didn’t know you could order them that way. I thought the stairs were done at Viking’s facility in Riviera Beach, not the factory.

The engine is in the right location but I'm not sure how this conveys to the conversation?

Would that be considered mid or rear engine?

Looks like stern drive to me.