- About us
─ Our history
From simple conditions, Viknes has grown to become Norway's leading motorboat manufacturer, with more than 2500 boats sold so far. This is the story of how it all began.
Freedom to choose…
When Jan Inge Sivertsen founded Viknes in 1988, freedom of choice was one of the most important things for him. He saw a market for robust, versatile Norwegian motorboats, adapted to the unique and varying weather conditions along the Norwegian coast. The boats had to be as well adapted to calm, sun-glittering waters as they were to rough offshore conditions. At the same time, Jan Inge chose the freedom to be his own boss: the freedom to design and build boats completely in line with his own ideals.
Early success stories…
Ever since the Viknes 770 Combi was launched as the first Viknes model in 1988, Jan Inge's approach to boat building has gone down well with the ever-growing Norwegian boat community. The first boat was very well received, and Jan Inge made sure to listen carefully to his customers, and adapted the design to their wishes. In 1989 he launched the 770 Sjark: a workboat built on the successful 770 platform.
This early admission added flavor, and in 1996 the Viknes 900 Combi was added to the collection. It represented a big step forward in both the size and quality of our models, and brought the Viknes brand to a wider audience. Now our trademark, forward-leaning front windows and spacious aft decks, made Viknes boats easily recognizable in any port.
Dark clouds on the horizon…
At the turn of the millennium, Viknes had a tailwind, and with our popular and reliable collection of models we quickly established ourselves as one of the leading brands in Norway.
Then disaster struck: In June 2000, a fire broke out which raged over the entire building mass. After just a few hours, production premises, offices and many of our boat forms were in ashes. But we did not let ourselves be broken, and kept a firm belief in the Viknes concept. After a quick and extensive rebuild, we came back stronger than ever, and could show off brand new, world-class production premises, and a renewed will to persevere that still drives us to this day.
Viknes is resurrected…
With new premises, we were not on the lazy side. Already at the end of the year 2000, we were ready to launch the brand new Viknes 880, and just six months later this was followed by a new flagship model – the Viknes 1030. Both were huge successes, and put Viknes clearly back on the map. With this, the boats gained a reputation for their unbeatable build quality and intuitive, user-friendly design, which we proudly maintain in every boat we make.
New classics become…
In the following years, we continued to improve and expand our selection. The 830 model joined the ranks in 2004, and the popular 770 model received a facelift in 2006. With this, Viknes had built up a consistent and attractive collection of high-quality motorboats.
The enormous success of the Viknes 1030 led to the launch of the Sunbridge model in 2009. At this time we also expanded the fleet with a new flagship model, the Viknes 1080, which was also shortly followed up with a Sunbridge version. The next model we introduced was the Viknes 930; a well-known design that was nominated for European Power Boat of the Year in 2011.
In addition to this exciting development within the Viknes fleet, in 2011 we took over Skilsø, another renowned Norwegian boatbuilding brand. With this we gained two new models in our fleet (Skilsø 33 Sport and Skilsø 36), and had the opportunity to apply our high standard and unbeatable build quality to these stylish and sophisticated boats. The Skilsø 36 developed into the Skilsø 39 Fly, and took its rightful place as the flagship model of the Skilsø collection.
It was also during this period that Jan Inge's two sons were given leading roles in the company: Kristian was appointed general manager, and Gisle joined the company as chief designer. This brought new energy and new future prospects to the company, while also ensuring that the core values of Viknes would be continued far into the future.
Exciting times ahead…
In 2015, we launched the Skilsø 34 Panorama – the first model that the newly organized Viknes team developed from scratch. With modern software design and production techniques, we created an innovative, spacious boat. The industry magazines (and, more importantly: our customers) were impressed.
The panoramic roof of Skilsø 34 was a great success, and paved the way for developing a similar solution on our flagship, Viknes 1080 Panorama. Another great option in our wide range.
Encouraged by the positive feedback at Skilsø 34, we continued to develop and expand our skills. In 2016, we expanded our design team with another qualified ship engineer, who brought with him experience from working with international shipyards and luxury yachts. Now we work unstoppably, both to improve the boats we already have, and to develop completely new models. As our range grows, our products reach an ever wider audience. In addition to the well-established market at home in Norway, we now sell boats all over Scandinavia, and are also entering the German, Dutch and British markets. These are exciting times for Viknes. With our solid foundation of quality and experience, and brand new models on the drawing board, we are as excited and optimistic about the future as we are proud of everything we have achieved in the last 30 years.
Contact us
Bakarvågen 6
5305 Florvåg