(photos and video from the recent Texas Viper Demo)I just got back from Arizona racing hull #72 at the Leukemia Cup. It was the first time my crew had raced the Viper, though, as a team, we have about a dozen regattas under our belt. The conditions varied widely from zero to nearly 20 knots, so we got a sampling of most the conditions you're likely to see.
I have to tell you, I'm thoroughly impressed with the range of the boat. It performs much better than any of the other 20' sportboats. I've sailed the Melges 20, the Laser SB3, the Open 5.70 and I own an Ultimate 20.
The Viper flat out FLIES in lighter air. In 5 knots TWS, we sailed with 4-4.5 knots boatspeed. The reason? The Viper has a remarkably narrow beam waterline but a long waterline length. This adds greatly to the light air capability. Even in ghoster breezes we could get the boat moving very well...typically 2+ knots, something you're simply not going to acheive in a boat with a wider beam waterline.
In the middle range, 10-12, the boat quickly jumps onto a light plane. Every thing about it is easy. My crew consists of myself, a 150 lb man and a 130 lb woman. My lady crew has no problem performing every task on the boat. She ended up being the jib/spinny trimmer in all conditions, even 20 knots.
The last day of racing found the fleet in 18-20, puffs perhaps to 22. This was obviously the fun day. The Viper has the right controls to depower the rig. Bendy carbon mast, big purchase on the Gnav, strong cunningham and fine-tune jib halyard tensioner. We had no problem sailing the boat flat, even reaching up a bit with the kite. We typically saw speeds in the 12-14 knot range and hit our top (according to the Velocitek) at 16.8. That particular reach was the topic of conversation at the post race celebration. :-) We crashed the boat once and it was very forgiving. One big ease on the spinsheet, a hard pull on the rudder and whooosh, out she squirted onto a plane, fully in control.The fleet was a wonderful group of sailors. There was at least one woman on every boat and one boat was crewed by the owners kids. We were immediately made to feel warm and welcome within a group that has sailed together for years. Quite unusual in fleet one-design sailing.
The boat has it all. Speed, quality, affordability, grass-roots and manufacturer support, strong but friendly fleet competition and steady growth across the country.
Having tried them all, I chose the Viper am very pleased I did.
Try one soon. If there's anything I can do to assist you in that endeavor, please do let me know.
Here's some video taken at the latest demo in Texas.
Still photos of the same event.
Here's a short video from YouTube.
