Thought??? 60' Viking SportYacht circa late 90's?

Viking sport yacht or an imported Princess with the Viking label?

He is talking about the Viking Motoryacht built by Viking in Jersey. I believe it is based on a sportfish hull and Viking advertised their speed thus the moniker sport yacht. I own a 54 which is the same hull as the 60 without the cockpit. I have owned it since 2007 and I have enjoyed the boat immensely. It has been very reliable but that could be due to proactive maintenance and replacing major components instead of fixing them. Overall a good sea boat. Headsea ride could be better but following seas it behaves nicely. The boat is wet when it gets rough. But you have a windshield with wipers. I have had some water intrusion on the foredeck core due to dinghy mounting hardware leaking. Some leaky hatches and port lights that when replaced the leak stopped. The things I don’t like about the boat: lack of cockpit, lots of levels (so up and down steps a lot), poor visibility of the stern from the helm (nature of the design and you do get used to it), bow tends to drift when docking, no small freezer space, major surgery if you want to replace the engines, gelcoat not great requiring painting. The things I like about the boat: relatively robust construction, windshield with wipers, enclosed helm with hardtop, surprisingly roomy engine room, lots of space, overall good sea boat, in general access for repair/replacement is good. This summer we did some 9 knot cruising and in certain sea states she could be rolly. So yes if going slow the stabilizers will be appreciated. I get the impression you already know this but will say it for others: the purchase price may be “cheap”, but to have a boat that is Bahamas capable for a month or more you will be replacing major components(unless you want to spend your vacation fixing stuff) such as ACs, generator, refrigerator, electronics. If done by professionals it adds up. I am somewhat troubled at the money I have spent on the boat but having a reliable boat ready to roll when I am is what I am after. If you buy a well maintained boat it is my experience that the Viking 60 could serve you well.

Ah, the Viking physical fitness platform. Cabin where the cockpit was. A few builders did this. I've just had Princesses on my mind latley.

IMO Viking has NEVER built a bad boat. Just some lay-outs were strange to me, liked by others.

Lithium battery bank and solar as an upgrade

Upgrade to what?

I hope your not another lost soul thinking solar is going to run your boat.

The line handling from the stern is a little trouble but is manageable. One can within the aft deck safely put a line on the starboard stern cleat. Once tied up you can add the port cleat. So not too bad. Getting on and off the boat is occasionally an issue. If you have very short finger piers and back in on fixed docks there are times it is a pain without the cockpit. There is only one marina where i have encountered that issue (Cannonsport on Singer Island, FL). BTW very much enjoy the marina but try to get on the face dock whenever possible. AB marina in Key West has no finger piers on either side, but floating docks so you have to go up and down the ladder. Not terrible but not optimum especially for my wife with knee issues. In locks (before I enter) I take a fender and attach it to the side of the stern that will be up against the lock wall. Not optimum but manageable. 96% of the time the finger piers are long enough to put up sea stairs and disembark just short of amidship.

Good luck.

Originally the boat came with 1 set of sliding windows in the salon. I replaced my salon windows and made all of them sliders with screens. The forward V berth has a largeish hatch that lets in a fair amount of air. The aft cabin has those 2 small windows on each side with screens. If you have a breeze it is OK but not great. A decent sized fan would help. The engine room heat seems to affect the aft cabin. I have seen one of these boats where the owner added larger SS windows for the aft cabin and to me aesthetically they were fine and I can’t imagine that would be a big job. There is an escape hatch in the aft stateroom that I suppose could be used for ventilation. As my boat is currently configured it relies on the genny solely when off shore power. Also has no water maker. I have cruised for up to a month on board in the Bahamas and have never had problems obtaining water but had to pay for it. I have never been south of Georgetown so further down could be an issue. There is room in the engine room for some additions. Aft decks even with windows open is still not comfortable on a 95 degree summer day. Once again fans help. You are welcome for the feedback glad to be able to contribute to the forum that I have learned a lot from.

While we're a 44, we added phifertex screens to the aftdeck, that is a huge improvement to liveability on the aftdeck in the sun.

Do you attach from the inside or the outside? I am redoing my isenglass and would like to incorporate the screens if possible. Do you leave them in place or install them when you need them? If from the outside that would be difficult for me to install them when needed and don’t think I would want them there all of the time.

They're installed on the inside, an additional zipper at the top, velcro sewn in at the bottom, inside is best, just a hole lot easier to deal with. We remove and install as needed,1min or less per screen.
If you have them made, have some sort of indicator installed on one end that tells you where it belongs, will make life a lot easier when putting them up.

Thank you

I ran one several times.

As mentioned, rear view for docking is basically nonexistent. But that can be fixed with a camera.

installing stabilizers would not be cheap, but well worth it.

I’d say they would make a nice live aboard.