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Passing Of A Legend: Viking’s Robert Healey, Sr.

Robert Healey, Sr. – who cofounded the Viking Yacht Company with his brother Bill back in 1964 -passed away on December 9, 2021.  He was 92.

A graduate of Camden Catholic High School, St. Joseph’s University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his law degree, Bob would spend 25 years dedicated to the field of law before he and Bill turned Viking into the #1 sportfishing yacht manufacturer in the world.

With Bill handling the boat manufacturing end, brother Bob steadfastly kept up on the business side of the equation.  As Viking’s Chairman of the Board for 57 years, Healey, Sr. diversified their financial interests into multi-family, industrial and commercial real estate, oil and gas exploration and development.  He would go on to receive numerous awards for his many achievements, including induction into the NJ Marine Trades Association Hall of Fame, as well as the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame.

When the Healey brothers bought Peterson-Viking Builders, it was a small, struggling New Jersey builder of 37-foot, wooden sportfishing boats.  The first all-fiberglass Viking, the 33′ Convertible, wouldn’t roll off the New Gretna, NJ line until 1971.  But on their nearly six-decade journey towards becoming number one in the sportfishing game, Healey, Sr. also channeled his financial success into philanthropic interests, which included building schools in impoverished areas of Mexico, and providing housing, medical assistance, education, food and clean water to the people of war-torn Sierra Leone through the Healey International Relief Foundation.

Together with his wife Ellen, he also founded the Gleneayre Equestrian Program, which uses the unique connection between horses and people to support learning, growth, and healing to help support at-risk youth.

“My father was a true leader, and his vision will always guide us,” said his son, Robert Healey, Jr. who added “He believed that the people around him – his family, friends and employees – lifted him to success and it was his obligation to leave the world a better place.”

No Is Not An Answer

I was executive editor of The Fisherman Magazine in late 2008 when Mr. Healey called me on the phone to pitch me an idea. “Mr. Healey” is the only way I felt able to address him then, as I do today. It’s probably important to understand that my honor and respect for the Healey family came at an early age. My grandfather, James Becotte of Ocean City, had run boats for Post Marine in Mays Landing, and he would occasionally take me for tours of some of the local manufacturing facilities; our visit to the Viking facility in the 1970s somehow stuck out vividly in my memory.

So while working out of our Shirley, NY headquarters for just 2 short years, I was a bit surprised when Mr. Healey asked me over the phone to take the reins as managing director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA). I politely declined, to which he responded rather emphatically that I should personally visit him and his son Bob, Jr. at the Healey’s horse farm. To paraphrase, “Nobody says no to me on the phone, you come out and here and tell me in person.” As I was beginning to learn, Mr. Healey was not the type of man to take “no” or “not” as an answer.

In the 1950s, the Healey brothers acquired and developed the Bass River Marina in New Gretna before buying Peterson-Viking in the 1960s. After renaming the company to Viking Yachts, the Healey’s moved the boat manufacturing facility to their property adjoining the marina. But as business began to occupy so much of their time, they sold off the marina to focus attention on Viking; Bob, Sr. the moneyman and Chief Executive, while Bill focused on the essentials of boat building.

Viking Yachts would go on to become what they are today, but not without one incredibly large obstacle that threatened to destroy everything. In November 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed off on a luxury tax aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit (despite that “read my lips” moment on the campaign trail). The 10% luxury tax was levied on watches, jewelry, expensive furs, private jets, expensive cars, and yes, boats and yachts too. While some Americans might see a tax on the rich as a worthy investment in the middle class, it would turn out to have many different results. As noted in a 1993 Baltimore Sun article, the Luxury Tax would cost billions of dollars in lost boat sales and tens of thousands of lost jobs between 1990 and 1993. Many boat manufacturers went belly up during this period, and Viking itself was forced to lay off all but 65 of its 1,500 boatbuilders.

As I said, Mr. Healey never responded well to no’s and not’s, and he was instrumental in spearheading a national, grassroots campaign to fight the tax. Mr. Healey took the industry lead, organized busloads of out-of-work boatbuilders to converge on Capitol Hill for demonstrations, and set fire to a boat on a barge in Narragansett Bay as a highly effective symbol of protest. He would continue to work with Rep. William Hughes of New Jersey’s second congressional district to help secure votes in Congress, and by August of 1993, President Bill Clinton officially signed the repeal of the “luxury tax” while citing an overwhelming loss of American jobs.

“My uncle’s efforts to repeal the Federal Luxury Tax on yachts will never be forgotten,” said Bill’s son and Viking Yachts President and CEO Pat Healey. “He saved not only Viking but the entire marine industry. He was the catalyst and leader, and he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

With his brother’s help, Mr. Healey privately funded the company out of his own savings, allowing Viking to tool up new models during the early 90s downturn. While sales from 1991 until 1993 were dismal to say the least, the Healey’s decision to remain open allowed the company to tool up for new models, which helped the company leapfrog competition in the mid-1990s. Once the Luxury Tax was finally repealed, Viking Yachts fired out of the gate, taking over the position of #1 sportfishing yacht manufacturer.

“He was a brilliant lawyer and savvy businessman who was able to convince the politicians in Washington that this was very much a jobs issue,” his nephew Pat said, adding “It was a great victory for our family-owned-and-operated boatbuilding company, the people of New Jersey and everyone in the marine industry.”

Thus it was sometime around Christmas of 2008 – not long after the passing of my grandmother Becotte – when I sat down personally with Mr. Healey and his son Bob, Jr. at their Gleneayre farm to discuss the RFA position offered by phone; the one which I’d already turned down. After trying the “no” route several more times during our meeting, I eventually agreed to give notice to The Fisherman in early January; I would spend the next 6 years at RFA working not far from the Viking facility in New Gretna.

The Politics Of Fishing

In the years that immediately followed the luxury tax repeal, Mr. Healey began to focus on the political solutions to problems plaguing the recreational fishing and boating industry. In 1996, he and former New Jersey charter boat captain Jimmy Donofrio helped establish RFA as a 501(C)(4) nonprofit political action organization to promote sustainable fisheries and a healthy marine environment. Over the past 25 years, Viking has contributed well over $1 million to the RFA efforts.

“I got to spend a lot of time with Bob driving to DC meeting with House and Senate members, and I was always amazed by his instinctive ability to analyze a situation and read people,” Donofrio said of Mr. Healey. “He was a brilliant leader and a mentor for me. He always told me just keep moving forward and get it done. I am happy he had a full life and I was glad to have some part in it over 25 years. Love you Bob,” Donofrio added.

Of Donofrio, Mr. Healey leaned towards me across his desk during that sit-down at the family farm in 2008, and in deadpan expression said “You see, Jimmy Donofrio is like nuclear energy, control it and you can power the world.” As he spoke, he brought his hands together with fingers entwined, before suddenly breaking his hands apart and saying “but if you can’t keep it under control, you could destroy the entire planet.”

It was a strange way to hammer the deal into place. Those who know Donofrio will no doubt appreciate the analogy. But those two men have very much been like father and son, loyal as the day is long, and patriots to the cause. The fact that Mr. Healey passed away just weeks before Donofrio’s official retirement from the RFA was perhaps more poignant than coincidental; both representing devastating losses to the fishing community as a whole.

Some cynics I’ve met over the years could never be convinced that Bob and Bill Healey cared much for the little guy, blindly viewing them simply as wealthy boatbuilders who only cared about their big boat customers. But as Mr. Healey would often explain to me, hardworking folks who make a modest living today strive for success in the future; a young plumber’s apprentice for example, working a 60-hour workweek so that he can climb aboard a skiff for a weekend of fluking, might someday step away from his own plumbing and supply company for a few hours each week to tool around in his 55′ Viking convertible called Pipe Dreams .

So as much as the Healey family has remained committed to a personal mantra “to build a better boat every day,” they also dedicated their personal and professional lives to looking out for everyone else in the recreational fishing and boating community, navigating some often treacherous political waters. As the saying goes, “a rising tide floats all boats.”

“My father always said, ‘We’ve worked hard to get to the top of the mountain, we’re enjoying the view and we’re not going to give it up,'” said Bob Jr. who is now co-chairman of the Viking Group which manages Viking Yachts, Viking Investments, Viking Associates, Viking Residential and Viking Developers. In fact, in following with his father’s belief in finding political solutions to solve problems, the younger Healey recently tossed his hat into the political ring in announcing his bid for Congress in 2022 running against Rep. Andy Kim in New Jersey’s third congressional district.

“The reason those boats are of such good quality is because we’ve got a 57-year history of having really great people that work alongside us,” Healey, Jr. was recently quoted as saying at NewJerseyGlobe.com , adding “We’re talking about 57 years of people who have been able to buy a house based on working for our company.”

“Some of them are immigrants. Some of them were born and raised here. Some of their families go back 300 years in places like Ocean County and Atlantic County… they’re all really good people,” Healey, Jr. told NewJerseyGlobe.com .

The Healeys repurchased Bass River Marina again in 2002, reopening it as the Viking Yachting Center. Along with the Viking Yacht Company, the marina complex also includes Breeze’s Bar and Grill on the Bass River along with a fuel dock. In 2016, Viking also purchased the Ocean Yacht facility in Egg Harbor City – roughly 9 miles from the New Gretna facility – where Viking Mullica builds the new line of Valhalla Boatworks center consoles from 33 to 46 feet.

All together both South Jersey facilities employ roughly 1,100 good people.

Perrine, Leek, Cavileer, Hankins, Henriques, Hunt, Post, Olsen, Peterson; the list of family names in New Jersey boatbuilding history is a long one, dating back to colonial times. And while Viking may be the brand best known around the globe today, it’s the Healey name that will carry along with the other legends of New Jersey’s rich seafaring lineage.

Fair winds and following seas Mr. Healey.

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The Passing of a Legend – Robert T. Healey Sr.

Viking Yachts Co-Founder Robert T. Healey Sr. (1929-2021)

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Robert T. Healey Sr., co-founder of Viking Yachts who fought federal boat tax, dead at 92

BASS RIVER - Robert T. Healey Sr., who with his brother turned a struggling New Jersey boat maker into the world’s largest manufacturer of sportfishing yachts, has died at the age of 92, announced his company, Viking Yachts.

“My father was a true leader, and his vision will always guide us,” said his son, Robert Healey Jr., in the statement. “He believed that the people around him — his family, friends and employees — lifted him to success and it was his obligation to leave the world a better place.”

Born on St. Patrick’s Day 1929 in Atlantic City, Robert Healey Sr. died one week ago on Dec. 9.

Healey Sr. and his brother Bill established Viking Yachts in 1964, which would eventually become known as the “Mercedes-Benz” of the boat world.

By 2001, the company was manufacturing 107 boats per year, each at an average price of $1.5 million and the company was employing 1,300 people at its 550,000-square-foot production site in the marshland around the Mullica River, between Ocean and Atlantic counties.

In the statement from Viking Yachts on Wednesday, the company noted that Healey had led the fight to repeal a federal luxury tax on yachts in the early 1990s.

In January 1991, the 10-percent luxury tax was instituted on purchases of boats that sold for more than $100,000. The levy came at the height of the recession in the early 1990s, with lawmakers calculating at the time that the amount would be easily absorbed by anyone with the resources to buy a yacht.

However, the tax backfired and ended up costing 3,200 New Jersey residents their jobs in the boat-building industry. At the time, New Jersey ranked fifth among states in boat sales and was home to several companies that built large, luxury vessels that sold for $400,000 and more.

Viking nearly went bankrupt, closed a plant in Florida and laid off all but 65 of its 1,500 boatbuilders, the company said.

Healey organized a national, grassroots campaign to fight the tax. He lobbied congressmen and organized bus trips for out-of-work boatbuilders to Capitol Hill to convince lawmakers to repeal the tax. He even had a boat set ablaze in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, in an effort to attract public attention to the issue, the statement said. The tax was repealed in 1993.

“My uncle’s efforts to repeal the federal luxury tax on yachts will never be forgotten,” said Bill Healey’s son, Pat Healey, president and chief executive officer of Viking Yachts.

“He saved not only Viking but the entire marine industry,” Pat Healey continued in the statement. “He was the catalyst and leader, and he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He was a brilliant lawyer and savvy businessman who was able to convince the politicians in Washington that this was very much a jobs issue. It was about good hardworking people losing their ability to provide for their families.”

After he graduated from Camden Catholic High School, Robert Healey Sr. attended St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, graduating with an undergraduate degree in political science. He went onto earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Later, Healey practiced law in Camden County for 25 years. He retired as a senior partner in the firm of Healey, Mueller and Tyler, so he would be free to pursue his business interests, according to Viking Yachts. 

In the 1950s, he and his brother went into the real estate market and developed the Bass River Marina in the New Gretna section of Bass River. More than 57 years ago, Peterson-Viking — a small, local builder of wooden boats — was having financial trouble. The brothers bought the company, changed the name to Viking Yachts and relocated the business to additional property they owned adjacent to the marina. The venture soon occupied most of their time. Robert was the company lawyer, moneyman and chief executive. Bill built the boats, all according to the company.

According to his obituary , Healey is survived by his wife, Ellen; seven children, Lizanne H. Jenkins, Christine L. Healey, Caroline H. Adillon, L. Toland Sherriff, Robert T. Healey Jr., M. Alexis Iaccarino and Leigh H. Hughes; sixteen grandchildren and his brother William J. Healey.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Louise; and two brothers, Patrick and Edward. 

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or [email protected]

Viking Yacht Company Celebrates 60 Years of Boatbuilding

• By Peter Frederiksen
• October 31, 2023

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On April 1, 2024, the Viking Yacht Company will celebrate its 60th year in boatbuilding. From humble beginnings on the banks of the Bass River in New Gretna, New Jersey, Viking has become the largest manufacturer of luxury fiberglass sport-fishing yachts in the world, with more than 5,500 boats delivered. Armed with a constant influx of new models that define the company mantra of building a better boat every day, Viking shows no signs of slowing down heading into its seventh decade. But the story of this family-owned and -operated company actually began well before its opening on April 1, 1964.

The Early Days

In 1961, the Healey brothers—Bill, an ironworker at his father’s steel company, and Bob, an attorney with real estate expertise—built a marina on the Bass River. The Healeys soon realized that for the marina to be profitable, it would need to sell boats, marine supplies and equipment, as well as provide repairs and winter storage. The pair struck a deal with Carl Peterson, a cottage-size local builder whose brand was flagged Peterson-Viking. Peterson produced a dozen or so boats per year, and the Healeys were able to sell half or more of the builder’s yearly inventory.

The well-built mahogany-planked Peterson-Viking boats were handsome, seaworthy and compared favorably with the South Jersey competition. Although Carl Peterson was a good builder, his company soon developed financial problems. A bank approached the Healey brothers about buying Peterson-Viking, an idea they liked. The Healeys decided to sell their marina and set up shop constructing boats in a large but unheated building in an undeveloped area behind the marina, where the Viking Yacht Company is today.

The brothers dropped the Peterson name, and the Viking Yacht Company began with Bill the boatbuilder and Bob the money man. Bill may have started out with his father, Patrick, in the steel-erection business, but his genius was soon apparent. He was born to be a boatbuilder, and together with his brother’s financial and legal acumen, the Healeys began their unstoppable quest. Bob knew that his brother would never compromise the quality of the boats, and his philosophy and commitment were obvious to every employee. His service in the United States Marine Corps also helped employees to understand from their first day that it was Bill’s way or the highway.

The first wooden Vikings sported lots of varnish, teak cockpits, and artfully hand-painted hulls. Popular styles in those days featured sedan layouts with flybridges, but Viking’s first real milestone came in 1971 when the first all-fiberglass 33-footer was launched. In fall 1972, the company made its industry mark with the 40 Sedan Convertible, which remained in ­production for 16 years. More than 600 were sold both as the original 40 and an updated 41-foot version. By 1979, the fleet had expanded to include a 35 Convertible and a 43 Double Cabin. A 46 Convertible was added in 1981.

As Viking was gaining attention from its major ­competitors, Bertram and Hatteras, a growing number of customers began to recognize that the well-built and smartly styled Vikings were formidable industry players. The lineup expanded further in 1987 when Viking bought Gulfstar, a St. Petersburg, Florida, yachtbuilder, and its factory. Viking now had established a stable of desirable tournament-ready sport-fishing yachts and a luxurious lineup of motoryachts from 50 to 63 feet.

Rolling With the Punches

A recession reared its ugly head in summer 1990, but it was the federal luxury tax that passed in November of that year that crushed the boating industry. The tax added a 10 percent upcharge to boats and other luxury items that sold above $100,000. On January 1, 1991, the tax went into effect, and the result was the equivalent of running aground at 35 knots. The brain-dead government felt that wealthy folks could afford the added expense, but they figuratively missed the boat in not realizing that the tax also affected the tens of thousands of workers throughout the marine industry. In 1990, Viking sold 90 boats. When the tax went into effect, sales dwindled to 32. A year later, it sold 12 boats, three of which were heading overseas. Both the dealers and Viking were stuck with inventory, so Viking closed the St. Petersburg plant and shipped the molds and other equipment back to New Gretna. Between Florida and New Jersey, Viking had more than 1,500 employees before the luxury tax; just 64 remained by 1993.

Using their personal resources, including their retirement plans, the Healey brothers sold their real estate holdings to keep the doors open and fought with the banks to arrange a workable loan-payment schedule. Bob Healey also took the fight to Washington with busloads of unemployed craftsmen and raised national attention by burning a boat on a barge in Narragansett Bay. The government did not understand that the issue was about the working people and their families who were losing their jobs and homes, not just the wealthy.

On August 10, 1993, President Bill Clinton finally repealed the luxury tax. When Bob Healey told the story about the IRS telling him that the luxury tax cost the government more in unemployment benefits than it took in with the tax, it was further proof that the tax was foolish and ill-conceived. Soundings , a popular boating publication, wrote, “On a national level, no one battled the luxury tax harder than Robert Healey.” When the Healeys were inducted into the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame in 2003, many in attendance remembered the grit and dedication that the Healeys provided through those horrible years.

Silver Linings

During those troubled times, an interesting benefit and asset emerged. Bill’s son, Pat Healey , who is now president and CEO, became a full-time employee in 1976 and was working his way up in the sales department. Every week, he’d hit the road to visit Viking dealers. He was after input; he wanted to hear what the customers were saying, and then he would take those ideas back to the team in New Gretna. It was time to shake out the “if you build it, they will come” theory, and building what the customers wanted would revive sales and grow the company in a post-luxury-tax world. Pat sought out dealers who shared his company’s mission. He insisted on total commitment to work through the remaining inventory and to be ready when customers returned to the market.

Viking survived the luxury tax—barely keeping its doors open—but the company continued to innovate and tool up new models. So when the tax was lifted, Viking was well-positioned to leapfrog the competition.

Once the inventory and dealer supply were under control, it was time to start bringing back Viking’s workforce—but not without another glitch: Nearby Atlantic City was eating up all the electrical, mechanical and carpentry labor. So, Bob Healey enhanced the pay program, including profit sharing, and instilled a four-day workweek. New models were coming, and the existing lineup, especially the 50 and 53 Convertibles, were branded with new interiors and other upgrades. There was a powerful energy among the employees, and when Bill stood at the door every night wishing them—each one by their first name—a good evening, smiles were everywhere.

By 1995, the company was about to launch its ­largest convertible: a 72-footer. A 54 Sports Yacht enhanced its motoryacht line, followed by a 58 enclosed-bridge model and a 60-foot Cockpit Sports Yacht that was Boating magazine’s Boat of the Year.

As Bob Healey recognized the importance of healthy fish stocks to keep customers interested in new offshore-­fishing boats, he founded the Recreational Fishing Alliance in 1996. That same year, Viking formed a strategic alliance with Marine Projects, a British ­yachtbuilder of highly regarded motoryachts from 40 to 72 feet. The British-built yachts were ­manufactured to Viking’s specifications for the American market and named Viking Sport Cruisers. It was an ­immediate hit that every Viking dealer embraced to expand the ­company’s footprint.

Meanwhile, Pat had been drilling his father with ideas for a better convertible. With Bill’s go-ahead, what followed was the Viking 55, a convertible loaded with custom features built on a production schedule. It set the standard as the ultimate sport-fishing yacht of the era and established Viking as a worldwide industry leader. Before it debuted at the Fort Lauderdale show in 1997, Viking had already sold 20 boats. The company eventually sold 115 during its five-year run in the tournament spotlight. It was so popular that when the next Viking, the 65 Convertible, was announced in 1998, it also sold 20 boats before the first one launched. The same year, Viking gained more acclaim from Ernst & Young as the New Jersey Manufacturer Entrepreneur of the Year. And in 1999, the beloved 61 appeared on the scene.

Expansion, Renovation and Innovation

In 2000, Bill orchestrated a $10 million plant expansion to improve factory efficiencies because the company was constantly introducing new models. The Healeys were obsessed with offering their owners value, and in February 2002, they opened the Viking Yacht Service Center in Riviera Beach, Florida. In December, they bought back the Bass River Marina and reflagged it as the Viking Yachting Center. Pat saw another opportunity to provide Viking owners with more value when Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers were created. The subsidiaries enabled Viking to offer turnkey delivery with every new Viking. Since their establishment two decades ago, both have become ­leaders in their respective industries.

In 2004, Viking launched its 74 Convertible, the ­largest boat in its 40-year history. Bill upgraded the plant again by purchasing a $1 million five-axis CNC machine, which carved foam plugs used to produce new molds for hulls, decks, cockpits and other large parts. It shortened the time it would take to build new models, becoming so useful that Viking bought a second five-axis machine to build myriad smaller fiberglass parts. Viking was on a roll, introducing one to three new models every year. At the 2005 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a 68 Convertible and a 74 Enclosed Bridge Convertible were showcased, along with announcements of a 52 Open and a 64 Convertible under construction.

Now in the zone, the ideas kept coming: Viking ­sponsored the Riviera Beach Maritime School in 2006 and displayed the first 68-foot enclosed-bridge model. Bill designed and built a wastewater-treatment plant for the New Gretna facility, triggering an effort to explore alternative-energy options, including the installation of 798 solar panels on the roof of Building 5A to provide power for it and Building 5. In January 2012, Bill’s most ambitious project got underway: a tri-generation power plant using natural gas to power six microturbines. The power plant reduced heat, electrical and cooling costs.

Despite the Great Recession, which began in December 2007, Viking continued to introduce fresh new models, with its largest-ever yacht debuting in 2009: the Viking 82. Several other boats were also introduced, such as the Viking 76. Other milestone yachts would follow, including the 70 Convertible in 2010 and the 66 the following year.

The innovation was nonstop, and Viking’s industry-­leading boat-show displays—with upwards of 16 boats in the water—were dominating. At the 2014 Fort Lauderdale show, the world was wowed again as Viking celebrated its 50th anniversary with the premiere of its game-changing 92 Enclosed Bridge Convertible and the 75 Motor Yacht.

The success of the Florida Service Center had made it so popular that Viking built another yard a few blocks north—Viking International Yacht Center—which also became home to Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers. Also in celebration of its 50th anniversary, the company held its first Viking Key West Challenge—a family fishing tournament that became a fixture in the Conch Republic.

The following year, the company launched the 80 Convertible. In 2016, Pat Healey announced that Viking had purchased the Ocean Yachts property on the nearby Mullica River to build its smaller models and provide more space for the larger Vikings in New Gretna. The groundbreaking 93 Motor Yacht began construction that summer.

Three new models arrived in 2018, including a 68 and a 44 Convertible in Miami, with a September sneak peek of the new 58 Convertible. No other company has built as many new boats as Viking, but this is a company that simply does not rest on its laurels. For proof, Pat made an announcement at the 2019 VIP event in February that stunned all 800 people in attendance: Viking would introduce three outboard-powered Valhalla Boatworks center-consoles—the V-33, V-37 and V-41—in September, and the Valhallas would be built at the Mullica plant. These 2020 models were joined by two new boats—the 38 Billfish Open and the 46 Billfish—which set a record of sorts at the Fort Lauderdale show with five new-boat introductions.

The momentum continued in 2021 with a new Valhalla 46 and Viking 54 Convertible; followed in 2022 by the Viking 64 Convertible and 54 Open; and at the 2023 Miami International Boat Show, two new flagships—the Viking 90 and Valhalla V-55—made their world premiere.

Bill Healey still visits his company and has always been fond of the Fleetwood Mac song “Don’t Stop,” with the familiar, recurring line: “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.” No words better describe the harmony and heartbeat that drives Viking to build a better boat every day. Sixty years later, it never gets old. Viking Yachts is privately owned, vertically integrated, and comprised of three generations, producing 90 percent of ­everything that goes into the vessels in order to ­control and ­maintain quality.

Bob Healey passed away in 2021, with Viking, the boating and fishing community, and the media recognizing his tremendous impact on the marine industry. His son, Bob Healey Jr., has taken the reins from his father as chairman, working with his cousin Pat as Viking charges into the future. The company now includes the third generation of the Healey family. Pat’s children—Sean, Justin and Kaitlyn—are now fully involved with the company in sales and marketing roles, while also representing Viking at boat shows, ­tournaments, and other events.

Read Next: Get to know Viking president and CEO (and passionate billfisherman) Pat Healey in our exclusive interview .

The hundreds of components that make a Viking are derived from the sweat equity of the company’s proud boatbuilders. Pat Healey smiles when he says, “We’re not smarter than our competition; we just work harder,” which is proved by the overwhelming feeling visitors get when touring the company’s 880,000-square-foot factory in New Gretna, where some 1,500 shipwrights produce the Viking product. And no matter where you turn in the Viking dimension, the people you see never stop ­thinking about the boat they will build tomorrow.

• More: Boat Building , Boats , Nov-Dec 2023 , Viking Yacht Company

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The passing of a legend - Viking Yachts Co-Founder Robert T. Healey Sr. (1929-2021)

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Industry mourns loss of Viking Yachts founder Robert Healey, Sr.

Robert T. Healey Sr., the co-founder of the Viking Yacht Company who helped build the company into an industry leader and led the fight that repealed the Federal Luxury Tax on yachts in the early 1990s, passed away last week at the age of 92.

“My father was a true leader, and his vision will always guide us,” said his son, Robert Healey Jr. “He believed that the people around him – his family, friends and employees – lifted him to success and it was his obligation to leave the world a better place.”

Bob Healey Sr. and his brother Bill established Viking Yachts in 1964, and the company went on to become the largest manufacturer of sport fishing yachts in the world. But that success may have never been achieved without the determination and perseverance of Bob Healey. When a federal 10% luxury tax was imposed on yachts in 1991, thousands of people were laid off and hundreds of companies went out of business. Viking nearly went bankrupt, closed a plant in Florida and laid off all but 65 of its 1,500 boatbuilders.

Bob was instrumental in organizing a national, grass-roots campaign to fight the tax. He took the industry lead, organizing busloads of out-of-work boatbuilders to converge on Capitol Hill for demonstrations, and setting fire to a boat on a barge in Narragansett Bay as a highly effective symbol of protest. The tax was repealed 20 months later in 1993.

“My uncle’s efforts to repeal the Federal Luxury Tax on yachts will never be forgotten,” said Bill’s son and Viking Yachts President and CEO Pat Healey. “He saved not only Viking but the entire marine industry. He was the catalyst and leader, and he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He was a brilliant lawyer and savvy businessman who was able to convince the politicians in Washington that this was very much a jobs issue. It was about good hardworking people losing their ability to provide for their families.

Bob’s 11th-hour lobbying efforts with Congressman Bill Hughes, who represented N.J.’s Second District, helped secure the votes needed to repeal the Luxury Tax in 1993. “It was a great victory for our family-owned-and-operated boatbuilding company, the people of New Jersey and everyone in the marine industry,” said Pat.

With Bill’s help, Bob privately funded the company out of his own savings, allowing Viking to tool up new models. The company came out of the gate running when the tax was finally repealed – and they never looked back.

Bob graduated from Camden Catholic High School, attended St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, graduating with a B.S. in Political Science, and earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He practiced law in Camden County, N.J., for 25 years before retiring as a senior partner in the firm of Healey, Mueller and Tyler to devote himself full time to business interests.

In the 1950s, his brother Bill joined Bob in the real-estate development business. Among other projects, the two brothers acquired and developed the Bass River Marina in New Gretna, N.J. In 1964 a small, local builder of wooden boats, Peterson-Viking, was having financial trouble, and the brothers agreed to buy the company, changed the name to Viking Yachts, and relocated the business to their property adjoining the marina. The boatbuilding business soon occupied much of their time, so the brothers sold the marina and concentrated on building yachts. Bob was the company lawyer, moneyman and Chief Executive while his brother built the boats.

Committed to their mantra to build a better boat every day, Bill and Bob pushed Viking to the pinnacle of their industry with more than 5,000 boats delivered. They successfully steered the company through the ups and downs of economic cycles. “My father always said, ‘We’ve worked hard to get to the top of the mountain, we’re enjoying the view and we’re not going to give it up,’ ” remembers Bob Jr., currently the Co-Chairman of the Viking Group, which manages Viking Yachts, Viking Investments, Viking Associates, Viking Residential and Viking Developers.

As Viking’s Chairman of the Board for 57 years, Bob Healey Sr. diversified their financial interests into multi-family, industrial and commercial real estate, oil and gas exploration and development, and the financial management of the Healey family assets.

Together, Bill and Bob Healey achieved many milestones. In 1996, they founded the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), a non-profit organization formed in 1996 to promote sustainable fisheries and a healthy marine environment. Viking has contributed well over $1 million to the RFA. In that same year, the brothers established Viking Sport Cruisers, a company that has been highly successful distributing British-built, high end cruising yachts, built to Viking’s specifications, through its dealer network in North America. Bob, Bill and Pat received the Ernst & Young 1998 New Jersey Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Fifteen years later, the family would earn a second award from Ernst & Young.

Ironically, the Healeys bought back Bass River Marina in 2002 and reopened it as the Viking Yachting Center. They were inducted in 2003 into the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame for their outstanding contributions to the marine industry.

In honor of their service and commitment to the marine industry for more than a half a century, Bill and Bob were honored with the 2019 IBI-METSTRADE Boat Builder Lifetime Achievement Award, which was accepted by Bob Jr.

Bob received many more awards for his achievements, including induction into the NJ Marine Trade Association Hall of Fame and the Rowan University Milestone Award. Bob also channeled his financial success into philanthropic interests, which included building schools in impoverished areas of Mexico, and providing housing, medical assistance, education, food and clean water to the people of war-torn Sierra Leone through the Healey International Relief Foundation. “My father was a good man with a deep faith and commitment to service,” said Bob Jr., who recently announced his candidacy for Congress in New Jersey’s 3rd District. “No person or mission was ever a lost cause to him. He saw the potential in everyone and believed that our true worth and value in life is in our contributions to others.”

A devout Catholic and product of Catholic school education, Bob brought his business skills to the challenges facing Catholic schools in the U.S. and formed the Healey Education Foundation and the Catholic Partnership Schools in Camden.

With his wife Ellen, Bob founded the Gleneayre Equestrian Program for at-risk youth. The program uses the powerful connection between horses and people to support learning, growth and healing.

For his philanthropic efforts, Bob received the Lewis Katz Excellence in Education Award, the Beacon of Light Award, the Catholic Charities Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Award for Leadership, an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Scranton University and the Shield of Loyola Award from St. Joseph’s University.

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The Top 10 Viking Yachts of All-Time

The Viking Yacht Company has been in business for about forty five years now, building luxury performance cruising and sport-fishing yachts. The company was founded by brothers Bill and Bob Healey in '64, when they purchased a small, financially struggling New Jersey manufacturer of thirty-seven foot, wooden sport fishing boats called Peterson-Viking Builders. Today, Viking Yachts is a leading producer of semi custom fiberglass yachts with more than 4,000 boats under its name.

Of those, these are the top 10 Viking Yachts of all time.

Viking 42 ST

Viking has been known to combine one model's features with the other, as is evident with the Viking 42 Open and 42 Convertible, which have the same hull with noticeably different interior and deck arrangements. The 42 ST is fitted with a tuna tower from Palm Beach Towers, and is ideal for cruising the Bahamas, cobia hunting, and riding the sailfish circuit. It has a characteristic New England taste and comes with an option for a custom fiberglass layer for the antennas.

The 42 ST also features the twin mezzanine cockpit familiar with the 42 Open. These models are a thrilling addition to the Viking yachts with their dramatic design combined with the eclectic running attributes of the sea-friendly resin infused hull boosted by Cummins QSC 600mhp diesels and the protruding pod drive propulsion system.

The Viking 55C is a blue water champion, introduced in 1996 at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat show. The model came with a completely new style and out-competed its rival not only with its stunning performance, but also its superstar popularity that skyrocketed its sales. More than 150 models were built over the next 5 years, the most that have ever produced in that size range until now. In terms of performance, the boat could reach a top speed of 40 knots plus. The 55 convertible is ideal for those who love to fish offshore and sleep late.

Viking 37 Billfish

When it comes to fishing, some things never change. This was inspiration behind the construction of the Viking 37 Billfish. Designed with the iconic Rybovich and Merritt day boats of the bygone era in mind, the yacht pays homage to the memory of these vintage vessels by featuring an upgraded styling and modern, more durable materials. As a result, the yacht offers attractive overnight accommodations, easier maintenance, and better performance.

A vital part of the Viking yachts collection, the 37B is designed to feel equally at home Pacific-fishing in the Costa Rica, blue-marlin in Bahamas, and home-fishing for sails on the shore of the Palm Beach. With air conditioning available on the command deck, fishermen on the southern end wishing to hide from the heat can find comfort and relief in the easily accessible cockpit.

Viking 60 combined the agility and swiftness of a Sport-fish with the comfort of a cruiser, giving the owner the best of both worlds. The boat offers excellent views from the fly-bridge, and is basically designed for speed. While steering is effortless and instantaneous, backing is a little harder and requires creating some distance from the helm.

Featuring a twin MAN 2840 LE401 ten-cylinder diesel engine that could produce 820hp, the yacht can achieve a maximum speed of 33mph and a cruising speed of 28mph. Its smart design is mostly responsible for the boat's impressive speed. The cockpit extension tapers upwards to create a hydrodynamic wedge, leading to extra lift from the base. This model was extremely powerful and in 1995, it was recognized as the Boat of the Year by Boating magazine.

Viking 75 Motor Yacht

Viking stopped producing motor yachts after the final Viking 60 was delivered in 2001. The development of the 75 motor yacht came from a strategic partnership between the Michael Peters Yacht Design corporation based in Sarasota, Florida, and the Viking Yacht in-house design team. The outside profile is smooth, curvy and covers several style cues from the company's convertibles including the familiar molded feature lines in the superstructure and hull, as well as the teardrop salon windows. The raked side and fiberglass hardtop has the same look as the Sky Bridge.

Viking 82CMY

Capitalizing on the 75 Motor Yacht's success, the Viking design team decided to progress with a new series of bigger models. The first wave in this new trend was the Viking 82 Cockpit Motor Yacht. The boat steered away from the luxurious, powerful cruiser and transitioned into a blue water yacht fisherman, heading on a 3-week vacation one day, and creating the perfect platform for a tournament fishing the next.

The cockpit occupies 108 sq. ft. and is accessible via dual teak planked stairs. Below the deck there is an inviting paddle boarding, diving, fishing, and other fun water activities. The lounge, which is 9 feet wide, is integrated into the mezzanine featuring an array of useful amenities.

Viking 92 Enclosed Bridge

This yacht has a striking profile with a number of motor yacht cues such as dual mezzanine decks - one on the primary level after the deck and the other in the cockpit. The first mezzanine provides both back-facing lounge seating, as well as a secondary seating space and table for dining. The Viking 92 also comes with an outside grilling and galley area for additional comfort and ambiance. The interior of the yacht is a display of luxury and elegance.

The 23' beam opens the salon while transforming it into a grand living room with inbuilt furniture and chic appointments such as a sixty-inch flat screen TV that is supported by a lift from the teak cabinetry. The boat is also equipped with 6 staterooms, each of which has a private shower and head. The full-beam master suite is fitted with a king-size bed, a dressing table, a walk-in closet, and his/her private facilities.

Viking 62 Convertible

Viking Yacht Company has always maintained a philosophy of creating a better yacht everyday. The 62 Convertible displays the Viking tradition of enviable edge engineering. It has a resin infused composite cored hull to optimize the boat's weight to strength ratio, using a high modulus of knitted fiberglass, carbon fiber, and Dupont's Kevlar. Similarly, hanging locker and interior stateroom doors integrate honeycomb coring for more weight reduction. The boat delivers top speeds of more than 42 knots thanks to a twin Caterpillar C32-A engines that can cough out 1925mhp.

Viking 48 Convertible

The 48 Convertible feature sleek, powerful exterior and a shiny resin-infused hull that extends its breadth to create a wider cockpit and more interior room. The forward chine and raked entry are built to penetrate the head seas and steer spray forward. The convex hull segments incorporate curvature and lead to the running surface. On the other hand, the maneuverability and lateral tracking are enhanced by the molded running strakes.

Viking 46 Open

The last yacht on our list is an example of the company's dominance in creating high performance luxury boats by maintaining exceptional quality, versatility, and value. The 46 Open features yacht club panache and blue water capabilities. It has a 121 sq. ft cockpit and comes with a molded deck for safe footing. As can be expected from Viking, the cockpit does not leave anything to chance, as it is fitted with such amenities as rounded coamings, tackle stowage, raw water wash-down systems, recessed hardware, and flush rod holders.

Written by  Garrett Parker

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Robert Healey Sr. of Viking Yachts Passes at Age 92

Jan 20, 2022 | Magazine , News | 0 comments

The final month of 2021 brought sad news to the marine industry with the death of Robert T. Healey Sr., a.k.a. Bob Healey Sr., at the age of 92. Chairman of the Board of Viking for an incredible 57 years, Healey was also a lawyer, real estate developer and savvy businessman. Bob helped his brother Bill get involved in real estate development in the 1950s which led to the acquisition of several waterfront properties and the birth of Viking Yachts in 1964.

While brother Bill and eventually Bill’s son Patrick lived and breathed boatbuilding on the production floor, Bob Sr. served as chief executive, the corporate lawyer, and the financial chief for Viking Yachts. Healey is succeeded by his son, Bob Healey, Jr., cochairman of the Viking Group, which manages the company’s various holdings and properties.

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N.J. Rep. Andy Kim has to beat an ex-punk rocker turned yacht dealer to serve another term

Andy Kim and Bob Healey are spending millions and throwing elbows in N.J.’s Third Congressional District race.

Bob Healey Jr. walked into the VFW post just off Route 130 last week, where a group of old-school Burlington County Republicans waited to meet him.

The former punk-rock singer turned yacht dealer with millions at his disposal made the rounds, quietly chatting people up with talk about American values and grocery bills, transgender education trends, and kids coming home from school saying “the country was founded in 1619, not 1776,” a reference to the year a group of enslaved people from Africa were brought to Hampton, Va., aboard the White Lion.

These Burlco Republicans have coalesced around Healey, 39, and bottles of Yuengling and Bud Light, in an attempt to unseat two-term incumbent Rep. Andy Kim, 40, a Democrat from Marlton and former security staffer with the Obama administration, in New Jersey’s Third Congressional District.

Dressed down in his plaid shirt and high-tops, cell phone tucked into his back pocket, Healey mingled as televisions above the bar were tuned to Philly news stations broadcasting footage of John Fetterman in a suit.

Healey’s look may not have screamed “congressional candidate with millions of dollars at his disposal” — more, one guy at the bar speculated, like the kid he was when he played (and screamed) in the horror-punk band the Ghouls.

But Healey, a top executive in his family’s Viking Yacht company, based in New Gretna, and also a yoga teacher, has lent his campaign $1.2 million through Sept. 30.

His mother, Ellen Healey, has donated $2 million more through a super PAC, Garden State Advance, to fund television ads against Kim.

One ad, called Madhouse, shows Healey in a bar in an olive T-shirt with caricatures of Washington Democrats awkwardly dancing and playing drums behind him, with people giving out merch T-shirts printed with some of his positions (”Cutting spending to fight inflation”).

“While my mosh-pit days are behind me, I still know how to throw an elbow to get things done,” Healey says, before pulling the proverbial plug (to stop the madness).

But Kim, on his third campaign, also knows how to throw an elbow, though nationally, he’s known more for quietly helping to clean up debris in the Capitol on the day after Jan. 6. The suit he wore that day is in the Smithsonian.

“I never had an opponent ask his mom to give $2 million to his campaign in an effort to help him get a job,” Kim said in a phone interview, conducted as he was driving back from a small business roundtable at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which now straddles the 3d District in Burlington County and the 4th in Ocean.

This is the third time Kim has gone up against a multimillionaire self-funding candidate, having beaten incumbent Rep. Tom MacArthur in 2018 and businessman David Richter in 2020.

He’s raised more than $6 million through Sept. 30 and has $3 million in his coffers. And he’s run ads attacking Healey for owning pharmaceutical stocks and trying to protect pharmaceutical profits, contrasting it with his own authorship of the provision included in the Inflation Reduction Act that caps prescription-drug costs for seniors on Medicare to $2,000 a year.

“My mom’s on Social Security,” Kim said in an interview. “Right now families are struggling to pay their bills. Meanwhile, my opponent is throwing a million of his own money, and asking his mom to bail him out. I find that to be fairly out of touch. I never asked my mom to help me get a job.”

Listening to voters

Outside the VFW, Healey paused to talk about what he’s hearing in the redrawn district, which includes Burlington County and portions of Monmouth and Mercer Counties. (The district lost Ocean County, home to many Republicans and coastal retirees.)

“People are talking about three things,” Healey said. “What are you going to do about my gas and groceries? I’m concerned about safety in my own neighborhood, and ‘Do you know what they’re teaching my kids at school?’”

Kim, who has held 56 town halls and serves on the Small Business, Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, said people are expressing a “general sense of whiplash and uncertainty,” and a desire for “a steady hand on the wheel.”

“They’re talking about the anxieties they have in their lives right now, from a lot of different sources,” Kim said. “They don’t feel like our politics is listening to them. All they see is tribal competition between two parties. And they’re tired of that. I’m tired of that too.”

Healey has campaigned thigh-deep in cranberry bogs and slicked his hair back for a Grease Lightning-themed event. Kim’s been at the country’s oldest pizzeria (Papa’s Tomato Pies in Robbinsville) and at the Sri Guruvaayoorappan Temple in Morganville — and also with his family in the upper decks of Citizens Bank Park.

With all the money being spent, the campaign is playing out on television as much as anywhere.

In one ad, Kim says Healey wants to protect his investment in pharmaceutical stocks and for looking out for his own interests. “Bob sells yachts, so Bob wants to cut taxes for multimillionaires like himself, including yacht taxes.”

In another, Jenniffer Hernandez, a Navy veteran and stroke survivor, attacks Healey’s position on abortion rights, citing a primary debate where Healey called New Jersey’s laws protecting a woman’s right to an abortion “unfortunate.”

On his website, Healey says he supports “a culture of life,” but believes abortion should be legal in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk, and that “people of goodwill can find common ground on legal abortions in the first trimester.”

In his latest ad, Healey says Kim reneged on a promise to be bipartisan.

Healey said that Kim does not understand the damage a luxury tax hike did to the boat industry and noted Viking employs 1,600 people. His late father, Robert Healey Sr., waged a successful fight against that tax.

“I’ve been a boat builder my entire life,” Healey said. “He seems to forget there was a horrible tax back here in the 1990s that destroyed an industry across the country and put a lot of hardworking people out of work.”

“It’s not just about his business,” Kim responded, noting he has proposed easing tax burdens for community banks to boost their small business lending. “It’s about all our businesses. The issues he’s trying to push forward on would be so damaging. My opponent opposed the bipartisan infrastructure law. How crazy is that?“

Deputy mayors and council candidates

At the VFW, there was a lot of local politics in the room.

There was Bob Gilbert, 70, a Vietnam veteran running for Delran Town Council, talking about local flooding and difficulty getting campaign signs.

Ralph Hagan, long active in local Republican politics, said he thinks “the independent vote that surprised [former State Senate President] Steve Sweeney” could come out for Healey.

Gerry Clauss, the deputy mayor of Hainesport, said he objected to Kim’s voting “lockstep with Joe Biden,” and said people in the district, moderates in both parties, “see the writing on the wall.”

Frank Sommer, of Riverside, recounted he “went all in” for Donald Trump, and said, “Good or bad or indifferent, he did a lot for this country.” He said he liked everything about Healey, beginning with “He’s a Republican.”

“If you’ve got a 401(k), forget it, it’s down the tubes now,” Sommer said. Looking over at Healey from across the bar, he noted, “He dresses like he did 15 years ago, before he got his father’s company, when he was playing in his band.”

The two will debate 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, on the New Jersey Globe’s Facebook page and YouTube.