Over the years, the elegant Vicem 55 Classic with its eye-pleasing Down-East lines has been one of the Turkish builder’s most popular boats. Indeed, the company has built more than 150 of them in the past 20 years.
Until recently, the 55, like most other Vicems, was built with a cold-molded process, involving layers of mahogany at different angles that are saturated with epoxy over a computer-designed mold. The idea was that the combination of wood and resins produced a hull that was lighter, stronger and quieter than most fiberglass hulls.
The problem was that cold-molding takes time, and many potential buyers were not that patient. So Vicem now builds the 55 Classic in fiberglass composite to meet the demand. Even though the hulls may now be more like other boats, the Vicem 55’s interiors are not; they still have lots of mahogany and teak and represent the very best of traditional yacht-building craftsmanship.
Vicem introduced its Classic series in 1991 with traditional Down-East styling. Vicem said it was “irresistibly drawn toward the siren of form and function. To ensure the challenging North Atlantic conditions season after season (and some of the most demanding captains in the world) traditional Maine lobster boats must please the eye and the sea.”
The Classic line now includes 10 models from 46 to 82 feet. The popular 55 fits in to the middle of that lineup; it’s a three-stateroom, two-head cruiser that’s easy for a couple to handle. With twin Volvo IPS650 pod drives, it has a top speed of 26 knots and a range of 250 nm at its cruising speed of 20 knots. Volvo’s fingertip controls make docking easy; the Vicem 55 also has a bow thruster.
The wooden tradition is alive and well throughout the boat. It has teak decks, a teak cockpit sole, teak swim platform, teak toe rails. The large doors opening from the cockpit to the salon are mahogany; so is the two-tiered helm. A two-person helm seat faces the console, a pantograph door opens to the starboard side deck.
The L-shaped galley is down, and the master stateroom is forward with a queen-sized bed. Large windows let in lots of natural light from both sides. The larger guest cabin is a bit aft on the port side with a double bed; the other guest cabin is on the starboard side with two singles.
Specs.: LOA: 55’3”; Beam: 14’5”; Draft: 3’8”; Disp.: NA; Fuel: 528 gals.; Water: 200 gals.; Power: 2xVolvo IPS650 pod drives.
Read more: http://vicemyachts.com
