Almost as much as they love the adrenaline rush of fighting a trophy fish, many offshore sportfishing boat owners crave speed. With the Valhalla V-55 center console powered by quad or quint Mercury Verado 600s, they can have both.

The flagship of the Valhalla fleet, the V-55 has tournament-level fishboat features, sleeping accommodations for four and a 1,200-gallon fuel tank. It reportedly delivers speeds faster than 60 knots with five of the 7.6-liter, V-12 Verado 600s, Mercury Marine’s largest production outboard. The V-55 made its world debut at this year’s Miami International Boat Show, where it won the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s 2023 Innovation Award in the Center Console/Walkaround Fishing Boat category.

“The V-55 performance is unbelievable,” said Pat Healey, president and CEO of Viking Yachts, which owns Valhalla Boatworks. “No other center console in this size and class of large center console has this level of speed, stability, handling and efficiency. What we’ve been able to do is take all the great qualities of the Valhalla V Series center consoles and merge them with the engineering, technologies, equipment and accommodations of our Viking sportfishing yachts.”

Valhalla’s V Series center consoles, ranging from 33 to 55 feet, were developed in collaboration with Michael Peters Yacht Design. They have his firm’s Stepped-V Ventilated Tunnel hull, which minimizes drag while the boat is running through the water. This characteristic enhances performance and fuel efficiency, and delivers a smooth, dry ride. “We have a very strict formula for how we do this hull,” Michael Peters said.

V Series boats are constructed with methods and materials similar to Viking’s sportfishing yachts. The V-55’s hull is built from fiberglass and carbon fiber/E-glass hybrid fabrics for strength combined with light weight. The one-piece stringer grid, deck, liners and hardtop are all resin-infused.

The V-55 is engineered to carry a Seakeeper 9 gyrostabilizer, as well as up to 3,000-hp worth of Mercury Verado 600 iron on the transom. The engines, which have independently steerable gearcases, develop torque that gives the boat a notable hole shot. Valhalla’s performance report for Hull No. 1, equipped with quad Verado 600s, gives top speed as about 55 knots. Cruising speed is pretty much up to the owner, but the boat’s fuel capacity (spread among three main tanks and two auxiliary tanks) means that at 35 to 43 knots, the range is 450 to 500 miles. At nearly 49 knots the range is still 400 miles. Add a fifth Verado 600, and the speed increases by another 9 knots, while the range drops by 20 miles or so.

“It’s a beautiful blend of technology, the boat and engines,” Peters said. “The performance numbers have been exceeding projections. We are really impressed by this engine. We don’t know what the limit on these outboards is. We haven’t found it yet.”

The V-55 achieves this performance with a 15-foot, 6-inch beam. By contrast, some other performance boats have beams that are almost half as wide. The Valhalla’s beam gave the designers the volume to include express cruiser-style accommodations, including a stateroom in the bow with a queen berth and an ensuite head. The head is split, with the shower stall to starboard, and the head and sink to port in a compartment that doubles as the day head.

Abaft the master stateroom are the salon and galley with woodwork crafted in-house. Headroom belowdecks is 6 feet, 7 inches, adding to the feeling of spaciousness.

The V-55 also has an aft stateroom with twin berths, allowing the boat’s owners to bring along another couple, kids or grandkids. This space also could accommodate a captain and mate; it’s reminiscent of the crew bunkroom on a smaller Viking convertible. It has no door, but creative owners might be able to rig a curtain for privacy.

From the aft-cabin bulkhead, a door leads into the machinery room where there is easy access to all of the equipment. The neatly spaced zip ties holding the hoses are a Viking Yachts standard.

This level of quality can be found throughout the Valhalla V-55, including in the opening hatches, upholstery stitching, one-piece wraparound windshield, glass helm and sleek pods housing the stereo speakers. One of the most eye-catching features on Hull No. 1 is a double row of forward-facing seats abaft the helm. Nine people can fit here securely (or, Valhalla can replace the rear row of seats with a settee and a cocktail table). The builder also can install an optional tower for hard-core offshore anglers.

“It’s very fishing-centric,” Peters said of the V-55. “Some of the other boats that are in this size category would be substantially taller. With Viking and Valhalla, everything is kept in line as to the height above the water for fishing. When you see the boat, that’s why it looks so long and lean.”

The cockpit, bow and side decks also are clear of any obstructions, allowing anglers to fight a fish all the way around the boat. Standard and optional fishing features include a bathtub-size fish box in the bow, and a Garmin multifunction display mounted to the underside of the tackle center’s lid, allowing anglers to view the fishfinder display from the cockpit.

As Healey said, “This is a statement boat, one that will dominate its class for many years to come.” —Louisa Beckett

Specifications

LOA: 55’7”
Beam: 15’6”
Draft (engines down): 4’ 0”
Displ. (full load): 49,873 lbs.
Power: (4) 600-hp Mercury Verados w/joystick
Fuel: 1,200 gals.
Price (base): $2,835,000 

This article was originally published in the August 2023 issue.