VIKO 30S

One of the first posts on this blog was about a virtual comparison between the Viko 30s and the Viko 22s and I say virtual because the Viko 30s was not yet on the water and was not tested, contrary to the Viko 22 that had been tested by Yacht de with not very favorable comments, to say the least.

At the time I expressed the opinion that they were very different boats (even if their look was not that different) due mainly to a big diference in B/D ratio and also different freeboard proportionally to the boat length. The Viko 22 is basically a dinghy relying on form stability and on the weight of the crew for stability, having a very poor final stability. The Viko 30 has a torpedo relatively deep keel and its stiffness and final stability, as well as the upwind performance has nothing to do with the S22: 
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/03/viko-30s-viko-22s.html

I was waiting for some more testing but as they seem to take time to appear I would have to rely on the one from "Yacht de" and on the images we can see on the video test:
http://www.yacht.de/yacht_tv/test_technik/polnischer-preiskracher-viko-30s/a100255.html
and also on the one from the British "Sailing Today".
This review was specially enthusiastic regarding the sailing performance, scoring the boat 4 out of a maximum possible 5 regarding sailing and looks. They were testing not the deep keel version with a torpedo keel (that I like more) but the swing keel version and even so they said about the Viko 30s:

"I was pretty impressed with the Viko. She looked smart and thoroughly up to date and she handled some frankly awful conditions gamely. I would have liked to sail the fixed-keel version, because if you added a gennaker and some racing sails, you would have a pretty competitive racing yacht."
http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/boats/big-boat-review/viko-30-2/

The movie shows a boat that sails well, reaching 7.7K on a F4/F5, recovering easily from gusts (contrary to the S22). A boat that privileges sailing and cockpit space to interior space, with a simple rigging, a big storage and a simple interior with a small galley and a big head.

I saw the boat this year at Dusseldorf and I was not favorably impressed with the interior quality that is below the one that is offered by Bavaria or Hanse in similarly sized sailboats, but that would be expected since a Viko 30s costs 35 500 euros while a Hanse 315 costs 59 900 euros.

The Viko can cost even less with an outboard engine (29 900 euros) or a lot more if many options are to be taken. Anyway a low price for sailability, interior space and cruising ability. I would say that this boat makes sense to the ones that are interested in a coastal small boat mostly for having fun day sailing it with ocasional weekend and holiday cruising in a kind of basic way.

And I would put the emphasis on sailing since even if there are several other Polish offers regarding budget cruisers none seems to me so less compromised regarding sailing potential and cockpit space, even if some have better quality interiors. Regarding what the boat offers, difficult or impossible to find better at that price, it remains to be seen if there are a market for it, meaning an emphasis in sailing regarding interior space and interior quality on a mass market boat.

If someone tries the boat I would also be interested in your opinions about it, particularly regarding how it sails. For the ones interested I would recommend a extensive personal test sail through charter. You can charter one in Italy (Agropoli) for not much:
http://m.yachtcharterbook.com/en/boat/italy/agropoli/viko-30/4097