Budenheim near Mainz is the location and Europe Marine the name of a small German shipyard where Viper boats are produced. The range comprises seven models, ranging from 18-foot inboards to almost 10-metre-long cabin cruisers.
We drive the current flagship, a Viper 303, which can be equipped with one or two diesel or petrol inboard engines with sterndrives. The Nürnberger brothers (owners of Europe Marine), who are also responsible for the concept and design, have the hull and deck manufactured in Germany by a renowned plastics specialist, who does the job almost perfectly.
The inner shell is completely sanded and painted, and all but one of the plastic cut edges are rounded and sealed. As far as the overall quality of our test boat is concerned, just this much: it's the best Viper we've tested so far, full stop.
In the harbour, setting one gear lever to "forward" and the other to "reverse" allows the 303 to turn almost on the spot. And if both gear levers are in the "forward" position, a turning circle measures about 1¼ boat lengths. The same manoeuvres in reverse look no different, and turning from one side to the other is associated with direct reactions from the hull. All this favours manoeuvring at slow speed, and the standard bow thruster is only needed in adverse wind conditions.
You can also find the entire test report with all the measurement results in the current August issue of BOOTE, which is now on sale.
Data sheet: Viper 303
Shipyard: Viper
Type designation: Viper 303
CE category: B - Outside coastal waters
Material of hull and deck: Plastic
Length: 9,80 m
Width: 3,00 m
Displacement: 5,20 t
Price: 159.880,00 €
