Viking Status

On first impression, the Viking Status resembles an American bowrider (a layout becoming increasingly popular with skiers and family boaties Down Under). And being an American design, this observation seems justified. However, this sporty little craft was not born in the US nor is it of Aussie heritage. The Viking Status has its roots in South Africa.

Now I know the Springboks play pretty good rugby, but I knew nothing about South African boat building. So I was quite interested to learn from Sydney Powerboat Centre proprietor Steven Arenson that his family owns one of the biggest boat manufacturing companies in the republic. In fact, Arenson said that Viking Boats was established in 1974 and is a household name in South Africa currently producing no less than 52 models from its Durban factory.

GOING ON SHOW
Arenson presently imports only three of the models from his family's factory including, of course, the Status. The Status is not a new model (our testboat was more than two years old), however Arenson has noted the increase in the popularity of bowriders and wanted to show off his craft.

As Arenson's demo boat for the last couple of years, our testboat revealed a hard life and looked a little tired particularly the interior. But I must say the hull and gelcoat has holding up extremely well and showed no signs of fading or crazing. The coloured striping on the Status is actually part of the gelcoat, and not a painted or stickered finish as often seen. Viking's five-year hull warranty obviously displays the company's confidence in its product.

The Status has a relatively basic layout, and could be described as a good entry-level bowrider for the budget-conscious buyer. Leaving off a lot of the bells and whistles seen on the American imports means costs can be minimised. Starting at a tad over $30,000 for a boat/motor/trailer package, the Status is good buying and would no doubt provide plenty of enjoyment.

Arenson also powers the Vikings once landed and uses Australian-built trailers, which reduces freight costs and again translates to a more competitively-priced product. The Status has a LOA of 5.3m and beam of 2.3m. And a dry hull weight of 650kg and an 80lt underfloor fueltank means the Status can be towed by most family cars.

PLENTY OF PADDING
There is hardly an interior surface on the Status that is not padded. A big benchseat with storage below runs the full width of the transom and provides seating for at least three. The padding continues throughout the cockpit and surrounds good-sized sidepockets.

The helmseat is a big bucket-style seat and is fixed in a forward facing position. It's very comfortable and provided good vision of all flush-mounted gauges as well as forward vision through the wraparound glass windscreen. The throttle and gear controls mounted on the starboard bulkhead fell comfortably to hand. The woodgrain dash features flush-mounted gauges, including tacho, speedo, fuel, trim and voltage.

Passenger and observer seating also takes the form of a big bucket-style seat, however this one has a swivel base allowing for ski observations. A glovebox is incorporated in the dash, in front of the passenger seat for storing odds and ends.

The centrally-opening windscreen section allows access to the bow area, where there is seating for up to five, although to my eye, this would be a little cosy (three would be perfect). The bow seats are hinged and have good storage areas below. Nice padded backrests ensure your comfort, and a low profile grabrail runs around the bow to help keep you safely seated while underway. There are four drinkholders for bowriding passengers, ensuring not a drop will be spilled.

No anchoring facilities are provided, although like most bowriders, the Status is designed for forward-motion fun Other standard features include removable stainless skipole, stainless boarding ladder, navigation lights and full camper covers.

VIKING VELOCITY
We tested the Status on Sydney's Pittwater and although I found the scenery absolutely beautiful most of the time, it was whizzing past way too fast to appreciate it. The testboat was fitted with a 150hp EFI Mercury outboard that turned the Status into quite a speedster. I won't give you cruise speeds because I reckon there's only two speeds for this type of boat stationary and flat out! Flat out on this occasion was 96kmh at 5400rpm, spinning a 21-inch Laser II prop. Call it 60mph or 52kt whichever way, it's pretty fast! Arenson offers a number of power options from 90-200hp, but I think the 150 was just about perfect. Although Viking will warrant the hull to 200hp, I feel that would be slight overkill.

The Status was an extremely enjoyable boat to drive, and I was very impressed with the hull characteristics. It was very responsive to various trim settings and turned like it was on rails. It handled all the Pittwater had to offer, including a few ocean swells around the heads.

Although I had taken all my photos and completed the test, it was actually on the way to lunch at Akuna Bay that the Status passed one more test with flying colours. A displacement cruiser of around 40ft was heading down one of the bays and was pushing up a considerable wake. In retrospect it was probably a bit silly, but a rush of blood and a little bit of larrikin saw me yell, "Hang on guys" to Arenson and my other passenger, fellow Marine Team staffer, Nigel Dearing. With that, the throttle went down and we hurtled toward a capping wave at 80kmh. (Kids, don't try this at home!).

The launch was precise and as we were flying through mid-air, outboard screaming, I looked over at Arenson (white as a ghost and bottom jaw on the deck). Fortunately the landing was just as precise and as I pulled back the throttles, I checked to make sure I still had two passengers and a camera case. Luckily all were present and accounted for. Dearing had a look on his face like he'd just lost his virginity, and Arenson had a smile from ear to ear. As we idled the rest of the way to Akuna Bay we had time to contemplate our second of exhilaration. I wished we'd had a cameraman onshore. Arenson's only comment was: &34I knew my boats were good Dave, but I didn't know they could fly!