VIKNES 10

Is this clever new family cruiser the ultimate all-rounder?

- Alex Smith

Very few boats make quite such an impression within the first few months of their launch as the Viknes 10.

Here was a boat that, for an all-in package price of £267,000 ex VAT, brought to the table three cabins, a massive cockpit, walkaround side decks, a lovely flow of day space and a high-spec standard features list that included side gates, vast sunroofs, a second helm, convertible seats and a whole load of cleverly conceived storage compartments.

Objective though we try to be, it was one of those boats that immediately set you thinking how it might feel to take one home; how it might work for you and your family; how it might look, nestling at a berth in your local marina.

But while the Viknes 10 was making its debut in Düsseldorf, drawing in the punters and convincing the likes of Fine Design Marine in Poole to take the plunge and import it into the UK, those who do their boating in the far north of Europe were already clued up. Founded in 1988 and still designed and built in Norway, just a stone's throw from Bergen, Viknes boats have long been valued across Scandinavia for their space, their value, their hardworking designs and their no-nonsense hulls. We spoke to several past owners at the show, including a Swedish couple who run a Prestige 520, and all of them, without exception, spoke with unvarnished nostalgia about the Viknes boats they had owned and loved. The video review we compiled received enormously positive feedback by virtue of the subject matter alone and five months on, having featured this same boat in our fortnightly MBY podcast, we finally got the chance to head to Norway and test it out in its home waters.

DRINK IN THE DETAILS