Viking moves ahead while Hatteras sinks

Viking is country mile ahead of all production guys, the fit and finish is good. They have had structural issues which they buried quickly but who hasn't had something with half the number of builds. I'm wishing they would build a true competition fishing boat, that's it, not bashing viking at all. They run a tight ship.

Most big winners use them in the GOM tournaments.

you re generous about carver…. I’d compare them to yugos.

Not sure I would say Viking is miles ahead in fit and finish. They had CCP gelcoat issues to deal with in that 1999 to 2007 time frame and then cabinet finishes that turned cloudy in the early 2000's to 2009 time frame that you see in the market today. They are an amazing marketing machine with an incredible dealer network. I like their product and they do so many things right but when I was recently moving up and in the market for a 3 stateroom Sportfish in the 46 to 50 foot space $650k to $1M I chose to buy a Cabo 48 Flybridge. As time goes on there will be fewer and fewer good options outside Viking as the market is thinner today than ever before. Hopefully Albemarle Spencer will have success with the 53 and Mag Bay will continue to grow and add some new models. Competition is good for the Sportfish Segment.

Every builder has had some issues at some point over the years whether it Viking, Hatteras etc. what counts is how they handled these issues

the milky interior finish has affected pretty much every boat builder around the world.

Viking is a great builder, BUT they have too many models and only half of them ride well. The other half not so much. All of the Hatteras SF run extremely well in a sea.

Albemarle Spencer will be a limited series unless it is priced very competitive.
Mag Bay have the potential as they are the original Cabo guys, it will be interesting where they head the ship in the next years if in CC or Sportfish territory. That new Mag Bay 42 is beauty.
I think Bertram with the 61 and 50 are also interesting very nice machines. I keep on hearing super reviews of that 50 Express for example.

I never heard of Vikings running bad, as in all lines some models ride better to others, but that's the story of every boat builder.

Hatteras has a lot of potential, they are still building though very slowly. They are at hull six of the GT65 its latest sportfish launched in 2020, and the 105 RPH was launched in early 2021.

Shame as it was a really nice boat

That is rather strange. As they were doing better with the MY vs SF up to 2019, and all the 70, 90 and 105 had potential.

The owner of WRG is a fishing guy. But they misjudged their MY demand and simply looked at how many competitors the MY's had and they saw the SF only had one real competitor and they made a rash decision to end the MY's. That being said I also believe build time may have been a factor. They are doing a lot of good things, such as updating the factory and hiring people. Streamlining the option list and shortening the build time. They're focusing on building SF now.

This is not entirely true. They have 6 lines to build boats in the New Bern facility, 1 is for Mako offshore, 1 is for Ranger saltwater, 4 lines are for Hatteras. So based on that, their primary focus will still be Hatteras. They were focusing on Mako and Ranger to get caught up on orders, but I've seen several new Mako's in inventory at various Bass Pro stores, I believe they are now turning their main focus on Hatteras again.

That is the decision I am making now. I just got out of a 60 Hatteras GT, and am looking at a newer 60's viking. There values are really holding tight. Who knows how the political and world events will effect this market.

Your father and mine met a long time ago, as my father bought 35' express hull #1 back in '94. He bought it from Doc Austin at HMY. I remember we had the prototype windshield that had to be changed out. It was a great boat, and the quality of the workmanship was outstanding!!

Everything you said is accurate. I had a ricky gillikin, then a 55' blackwell, then a 62' Winter hull #1. They were great running boats, and set up as you described. I was fishing like a madman back then, did a few tournaments, etc. Over the last 2 years, my desire to be the best fisherman, and do more tournaments waned, and I have started into the production boat line. I had a 60 hatteras GT, which actually ran really well, even compared to the customs I had owned. Now I am looking at Viking as I see myself fishing less and cruising more. True tournament boats that are at the top of the leader boards are custom for sure, but the newer edition vikings (62', 68') have been as close as viking has ever been to the custom boats.

I would take a really hard look at Hatteras 59'/63' and 65' GT's as they all run phenomenal and are a great seaboat.