New Boat: Valhalla V-55
For years now I’ve been trying to get the term super console to stick. In a world full of Scouts, HCBs and Valhallas that seem to stretch to the horizon and house multiple staterooms, the term center console just feels inadequate.
“This boat is a super console personified,” said my colleague and Angler’s Journal editor-in-chief Charlie Levine when I met him in the cockpit of the Miami show-stopping Valhalla V55. “I’m just sort of enamored here taking it in.”
Besides her LOA and sharp Palm Beach tower that seems to pierce the clouds, what makes you stop on the docks are the quartet of 600-hp Mercury’s standing fully out of the water and making her length even more unfathomable. If the 2,400-hp quartet that hundreds of showgoers took selfies in front of isn’t quite enough, owners can add an optional 5th outboard to make it a nice even 3,000-hp. The fourth model from the from a four-year-old builder whose line includes the 33, 37, 41 and 46, the 55 was born from the demand from both Valhalla owners as well as the loyal and rabid Viking base.
The arena for any Valhalla or Viking has to be the cockpit. While that area on deck glistens, like in Manhattan, its what’s below the surface that keeps everything moving. Underfoot are Hooker sea chest pumps, the Electrosea straining system, the Seakeeper, essentially every system that a discerning angler would look for. A pair of 65-gallon livewells built into the transom look big enough for kids to swim in.
Perhaps my favorite option in the cockpit is a huge aft-facing MFD so you and your crew can watch the fish finder when on the tournament circuit or use the TV functionality and catch the game back at the dock while manning the grill.
The first 55 that debuted in Miami boasted nine forward-facing bolster seats in two rows—a choice that will undoubtedly be popular amongst the sportfishing set. There’s also the option to swap the second row for a more conversation-friendly U-shaped seating area that should appeal to the family cruiser. Visibility when driving looks to be exceptional thanks to an elevated front row that allows you to clearly see the bow and over the heads of your crew in the row behind you. Pushing on the throttles in the inlet, you’ll be able to look back and watch the horizon disappear at 52 knots with the quad outboards or at around 60-knots with quints (not too shabby for a boat weighing in at nearly 50,000 pounds fully loaded).
The only drawback, if you can even call it that, to all that horses on the back is that they need a lot of hay. To belabor the horse analogy, this boat has the barn to support it with a 1,200-gallon capacity. For comparison, the 46 Valhalla has a capacity of 694 gallons and the Scout 53 comes with an 875-gallon capacity.
From the stitching in the upholstery to the new Edson wheel, at every turn you can see and feel the Viking yacht level of finish. But nowhere is that as evident as in the accommodations (you really can’t call it a cabin with a straight face).
Stepping down a few steps you enter a dinette area that could easily seat a few hungry anglers as well as a split head; which is a smart setup on a boat like this so one crew member can shower while leaving the head available. There’s nearly seven feet of headroom throughout this area and the forward stateroom. In the second stateroom, yes, a “center console” with a second stateroom, lie a pair of twin berths with more than enough length for a sleepy angler to stretch out. It’s through that stateroom that you can access a mechanical space that houses the generator, pumps and filters—this space is a thing of beauty that will bring a tear to the eyes of boatyard techs.
A family cruiser at heart, I was especially impressed with the both the accommodations and a level of finish that rivals any other top-end yacht builder. I was thankful Charlie was aboard as he was able to look at the boat through the Costa-covered eyes of a serious angler. We both walked away seriously impressed. It’s that multi-purpose appeal that yielded an astonishing 50-plus orders by the time of the show, just a couple months after hull number one’s bottom paint first kissed the water. In short, the 55 is a major new player in the super console category, a category I’m more confident than ever, is here to stay.
Specifications:
LOA: 55’7”
Beam: 15’6”
Draft: 4’
Displ.: 50,000 lb.
Fuel: 1,200 gal.
Water: 125 gal.
Engines: 4 or 5/600-hp Mercurys
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This article originally appeared in the August 2023 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/outboard/valhalla-v-55-boat-review
