Boat test for the 2007 Viking Sport Cruisers 58 Flybridge with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2007 Viking Sport Cruisers 58 Flybridge.

While the larger world grapples with thorny issues like disappearing polar ice caps and nuclear proliferation, the boating industry wrestles with its own conundrums, one of which rivals those in thorniness if not scale: Galley Up Versus Galley Down. Pretty much since the day someone first put a lid on a hull, designers and owners have debated which is the better location for the food-preparation area. The issue involves matters as weighty as ergonomics and aesthetics but also fringes on that of gender: Is it right to banish the cook (often a female) to the nether regions while the captain (often a male) enjoys expansive views and fresh air?

Viking Sport Cruisers offered a solution when it replaced a popular galley-up model, the 57 Flybridge, with a new galley-down model, the 58 Flybridge. Examining the two, you can see why a seemingly simple either/or proposition has generated such controversy. Being up, the 57's galley placed its occupants in the thick of things (if a few steps down), right in the midst of the main-deck saloon and just aft of the starboard helm, making conversation practicable even as meals take form. Yet the 58's galley—forward, down three steps, and to port—hardly exiles the cook. Yes, views from it are definitely limited, but an open overhead brings in light and makes communication with the helmsman a reasonable proposition.

Neither galley has an edge on size and amenities; both offer the basics required by a sometime cruiser: cooktop, microwave, copious refrigeration (an upright for the 58 and two drawers for the 57), and decent counterspace. But when you look at what changing locations does to the other accommodations, you begin to think the 58 finally has the definitive answer. As you'd expect, removing the galley from the main deck creates a larger, less-broken-up saloon, and let's face it, this is where most people spend most of their time when they're not outside. Removing the bridge staircase at the forward port end of the saloon further frees up more space, albeit at some price in convenience. The pictures here tell the story of the modifications, but it's worth pointing out that the 58's designers were able to also fit a bar with an ice maker, refrigerator, and bottle and glass stowage (but no sink) behind the helm, where the 57's galley is. Both boats' dinettes are across from the helm, a convivial location that in the case of the 58 makes it especially convenient to the galley. Being elevated adds room for accommodations below (in the 58's case, the master stateroom) and fine views as well.

So the obvious question is, what happens to the sleeping accommodations when you put the galley below? It's a credit to this boat's designers to answer, "Not much." There's still a VIP forward and a master aft (which was farther forward and to starboard on the 57), both with en suite facilities. The double-berth stateroom has migrated from port to starboard to make room for the galley and is sufficiently sized to include a full-size hanging locker but alas, no direct access to facilities as in the 57. In other words, you have three comfortable staterooms and two heads big enough to accommodate enclosed showers—just like on the 57. What more could you ask for on a 58-footer?

PAGES:

1

2