2023 Valhalla Boatworks V-46

OCTOBER SKY is one of the nicest V46 Valhallas to leave the factory and one of the few available with a full gap tower. Lots of upgrades and options. She is a beast of a center console that can run with the best of them. Need to get to the fishing grounds fast, she can cruise at 50 mph. Want to take the the family and friends out for a day on the water, its a spacious day boat with room to lounge.

• Built with numerous options & upgrades!
• Custom Gap Tower
• Quad Mercury V12's, 600 HP w/ Joystick
• Generator, Garmin electronics package
• Seakeeper 6, bow thruster, A/C helm & seats
• Upgraded Release Marine jump seats
• Upgraded upholstery, coaming bolsters, underwater lights

ARTICLE from PMY

From the stern, the Valhalla V46 doesn't sit like your average center console. The smooth curve of the sheerline, from the point of the bow sloping down to the tumblehome aft, gives the boat a soft, strong persona. The bow flares out just a bit and is outlined by a faux-teak painted toe rail. Combined with the rounded bustles at the corners of the transom, the look of the V46 harkens to classic sportfishing boats more so than your run-of-the-mill center console.

With an LOA of 46 feet, 7 inches and a beam of 13-plus feet, the boat leaves a large footprint. Yes, technically speaking it is a center console, but it's much more than that. The Valhalla 46 is as comfortable nosing up to a sandbar for a chill day with the family as it is running 70 miles offshore with the hardest of hardcore anglers. Viking has always built fast boats, but with a 60-plus knot top end the V46 can do laps around their fastest convertible thanks to quad 600HP Mercury Racing outboards.

Viking introduced the Valhalla line in 2019. The open boats immediately made an impact and orders flooded in, but some customers wanted more features: air-conditioning, sleeping quarters, a generator, a full head with shower, a galley and additional seating. But they didn't want to give up anything either, so rather than cram all of this into the existing 41, the design team went bigger. Viking stuck with the Michael Peters two-step hull used on the other Valhallas for its solid performance and handling. I have to say, for a stepped hull, the 46 will carve a surprisingly tight turn. If the captain hadn't told us to hang on when he cut the wheel, someone probably would've gone for a swim. The boat dug in and stayed tight.

One thing I've long admired about Viking is the company's attention to detail. It makes nearly every component and part in house, and it does the little things well. Take the helm for example: Raised up 7 inches off the deck, it affords incredible visibility forward through a curved windshield. But for short guys like myself, seeing the transom over the second row of seating, which is raised up a couple more inches, is tough-and that was with no passengers. When I mentioned this to company captain Ryan Higgins, he opened a small hatch under the captain's chair so the lid rested on the console forward. This gives the captain a step to stand on for another few inches of height and clear views of the outboards astern. Problem solved.

The helm offers three MFDs, a 22-inch in the center flanked by 17-inch screens on either side, and it's super clean. The VHF mics are set under a lid so there are no dangling cords. Viking also installed a fuel management system that lets the captain control which of the three fuel tanks each engine is pulling from. This ensures you can use every last gallon should you need to. The hardtop looks like it came straight from a 70-footer. It houses recessed, electric teaser reels, LED lights and on this particular hull, an almost ridiculous amount of speakers. This boat will be used as a tender, and the owner must really like to rock the boat, because you can hardly look in any direction without seeing a speaker.