43 Open

The Viking 43 Open was the best-selling express fisherman in her class during most of the 1990s. A big muscular boat with serious eye appeal, the 43’s large bridge deck and comfortable cabin accommodations are perfect for entertaining and cruising. Notably, the 43 Open was one of the first big express boats to feature a centerline helm position. Belowdeck, the standard single-stateroom floorplan has a spacious, wide-open salon with a big U-shaped settee to port and a full-service galley opposite—an efficient and popular day boat layout. An optional interior layout (not shown) has the galley to port, forward of the lounge, and a daybench that converts to upper/lower bunks near the companionway steps. To the veteran angler, the 43’s large, uncluttered cockpit is testimony to Viking’s long experience building tournament-winning sportfishing boats. Cockpit features include a top-loading freezer, tackle cabinet with bait prep center, removable fish box, baitwell and walk-in engine room access. Early models with 550hp 6V92 DDEC diesels cruise at 23–24 knots. Later models with 680hp MANs cruise at 26–27 knots, and 820hp 10-cylinder MANs cruise at close to 30 knots. Over 70 were built.