The Polish Navikom shipyard has been the discount world champion for years. The Poznan-based company now produces hundreds of small cruisers per year on a production area of 4,500 square metres.
The company's success is the art of omission. Whether 20 feet or 27, every ship is consistently trimmed to minimise costs, almost regardless of losses. As a result, there is no other shipyard that can offer so much living space at such favourable prices: The entry level starts at 8,000 euros for a 20-foot small cruiser, and even the Viko 35, which is not available in Germany, is said to cost less than 42,000 euros - that is around half the price of a Western European large series yacht.
The Viko 25 is no exception: with an entry-level price of 18,000 euros, it is on average a good 10,000 euros cheaper than comparable boats of the same size. For such sums, the need to save money has to start early.
The manufacturing quality as such cannot be criticised. There are sufficient reinforcements under load, the gelcoat surfaces are clean and even and the stainless steel components are, as always, faultless. However, there is not much installed. Anyone familiar with more opulently equipped boats will be surprised at how little you can actually get by with.
And so the Viko 25 only offers limited sailing fun. If you are a beginner looking for a boat that is primarily intended for sailing and only secondarily as a holiday vehicle or weekend cottage, the Viko is the wrong choice. Navikom's obsession with saving money has reduced the actual sailing experience to absurdity: At no time on the test day did the 25 exceed the 3 knot mark in 6 to 8 knots of wind, turning angles of less than 100 degrees were never measurable, not to mention a lively rudder feel.
Read in the current issue of YACHT whether the Viko 25 is still worth its sensationally favourable price.
