One look at our Viper 243 test boat is enough to realise that, although it is built in Germany, this boat looks "typically American". No wonder, because the Viper manufacturer (Europa Marine) has been importing and selling American boats for years. Company owners Peter and Robert Nürnberger came up with the idea of building the boat themselves when the American boat builders stopped offering the sports boats with closed foredecks that were popular in Germany and instead only offered open bowriders. Thanks to their good contacts with the Americans, the brothers had no problem obtaining hull moulds and then producing them themselves in Germany for the local market (for more on this, see BOOTE 10/2004). However, it is not only the small sports boats with closed foredecks that are now coming off the "production line", but also a day cruiser with a V-berth, toilet and sink.
The same equipment can be found on our second test boat, the Ibiza 24 Touring. It is not an inboard that provides the acceleration, but a 250 hp four-stroke outboard from Suzuki. A major advantage of outboards over boats with inboards is the better power-to-weight ratio. The exact effect of this can be found under the heading "Driving and manoeuvring". Like most Norwegian boats, the Ibiza comes from the region around Arendal in the south of the country. Anyone expecting a conservatively built boat will be pleasantly surprised - at least as far as the imaginative fittings and their innovative realisation are concerned.
The workmanship is also positive; with a few exceptions, such as the door cut-out, which is not rounded or sealed, the workmanship of the Ibiza 24 is at the usual high Scandinavian level. The finish of the Viper 243 is also good, but not quite as perfect. The outer sides make an impeccable impression, but the protective coating on the inside was missing in some hard-to-reach areas. Although the boat builders deburred the cut edges, the sealant was also missing here.
Without engines, the two test boats weigh an almost identical 1400 kg. If you add the engine weights, the Viper is 1875 kg and the Ibiza 1665 kg. That is almost 200 kg less, which is favourable when choosing a trailer for the Ibiza. A 2300 kg trailer is sufficient for it. Viper owners, on the other hand, need a 2.5-tonne trailer.
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