BATTLE TESTED
VIKING 72
LOA: 72'8"
BEAM: 20'0"
DRAFT: 5'9"
DISPL.: 129,696 lb.
FUEL: 2,594 gal.
WATER: 372 gal.
STANDARD POWER: 2/2,635-hp MTU
Series 2000 V16s
TEST POWER: 2/2,635-hp
MTU V16-M96L diesels
TRANSMISSION: ZF 3070/2.773:1 ratio
PROPELLERS: Veem (details proprietary)
GENERATORS: 2/29-kW Cummins Onan
PRICE: Upon request
“Right teaser,” Capt. Ryan Higgins said in a calm, metered voice into a headset worn loosely around his neck. His notice was transported through the stereo speakers in the cockpit, bringing the already alert anglers and mates to attention. Among them was Pat Healey, president and CEO of the Viking Yacht Company. We were 96 miles off of Cape May, a few days before the White Marlin Open, and I was experiencing the company’s latest tour de force, the open-bridge 72 convertible, in action.
We had slipped the lines at the Canyon Club at 4:30 a.m. and run into a head sea at an effortless 32-knot cruise, arriving offshore of the Lindenkohl Canyon around 7:30. The dredges and teasers were deployed, and four lines with naked ballyhoo were added to the spread, with several more strategically placed around the cockpit, ready for dropback when needed. In less than 20 minutes, the first marlin of the day was hooked, fought, and released. There’d be more—singles, doubles, and triples—in the coming hours, with a final tally of 17 releases out of 21 fish raised. With each fish, Higgins put the
