Designed in 1996 by Kiwi sailor Brian Bennett, the Viper 640 was voted the following year as "Boat of the Year, Overall Winner" by a leading US sailing magazine, with 65 boats being built by the designer in the first two years and interest from all corners of the US. Yet within just a few months of receiving these accolades, the designer/builder had to return to New Zealand and without his support, the hull molds were sold out of the country and the class fell into obscurity.

This could have been the final chapter, the end of a class like so many others before and since. There was no class racing and numerous boats for sale, but no interested buyers. However, in the end of 2004, a small group of Viper owners and crew met in Marblehead, MA and what started out as an enthusiastic revival of racing Vipers locally rapidly grew into a full-blooded renaissance in the class nationwide, with a waiting list of people anxious to buy boats, a new class association, a new website, growing fleets in the northeast, southwest and southeast, a North American Championship in 2005, a developing regatta schedule, class-embroidered clothing and most importantly, a new builder

There were two primary modifications upon which the class spent a considerable amount of time: The first was the adoption of a carbon mast (the original mast was a heavy, double-sleeved aluminum section, effectively two masts sleeved together) that would be some 40lbs lighter and thus dramatically improve ease of raising and lowering, offer greater tuning options and give greater hull stability. Most importantly, the supplier agreed to offer the carbon mast to existing Viper owners, complete with spreaders and new shrouds, for some $800 less than the cost of the original aluminum mast; the second was to make changes to the spinnaker shape and the spinnaker retrieval system in order to make spinnaker douses easier on crew and equipment alike.

The fact that many of the existing Viper owners had already implemented a carbon mast, a skiff-style foredeck spinnaker throat and wider spinnaker sock - and were prepared to extol their virtues at length - enforced the class' unanimous decision that these modifications be officially adopted.

New Boats
After much deliberation the Class appointed Rondar Raceboats as the class builder (www.rondarboats.com). With over 30 years of experience, Rondar Raceboats had an exceptional worldwide reputation for producing quality, performance sailboats. Indeed, in the 2005 Five-Oh-Five (505) World Championships, with a highly competitive170 entries, not only was the winning boat a Rondar, but 7 of the top 10 boats were from this same builder.

Prospective US owners can now buy boats directly from Rondar at "builders cost", which substantially reduces the cost of a new Viper. Moreover the designer, Brian Bennett, has agreed to waive his royalty fees on the first 20 boats produced under the auspices of the class, thereby reducing the price still further. Rondar Raceboats is aiming to bring the cost of an individual base boat down to below $20,000 and for a fleet purchase base boat to below $18,000, including a carbon mast. The price for a new boat is therefore less than half that of similarly-paced sports boats, and requires fewer crew; clearly exceptional value for money.

In addition to the existing groups of Vipers in the southeast, the southwest and New England (Marblehead is the primary fleet, with 15+ boats), even before the appointment of Rondar Raceboats as builder there were two groups of prospective Viper owners forming to buy new boats at syndicate prices, one in western Long Island Sound and one in eastern Florida.

Riding the Reptile
Make no mistake about it; the Viper 640 is a fast and exciting ride. With its generous sail plan, fine entry, sleek hull shape, light displacement (725lbs) and 2-3 crew on the rail, the boat slices smoothly upwind and planes easily downwind. How fast? When not being raced one-design this 21' dinghy-keelboat, using the original aluminum mast, is awarded PHRF ratings between 98 and 111, depending on location; carbon-rigged Vipers in Europe rate the same or faster than a Melges 24.

However, thanks to the creativity of its designer who incorporated a huge rolled-edge cockpit and dramatic hull flare, the boat is actually comfortable, relatively dry, versatile and easy to sail. Indeed, a recent new Viper owner took his first sail on the open Pacific with 3 non-sailing adults and a 3-yr old toddler, enjoying a pleasant family day sail. He subsequently followed that experience by racing single-handed in 12-14 knots, still using the spinnaker to devastating effect on the downwind legs, and having no difficulty in effortlessly planning away from boats like Farr 40s, J120s and J130s bobbing in his wake (the Viper automatically planes "knuckle-up" - no awkward hanging-off-the-transom "à la Melges" for this design)…until a clumsy gybe saw him lose his footing, causing the boat to broach. Even with no crew, all it took was the release of the vang and the spinnaker sheet, and the Viper popped back up onto its feet to continue its sleigh ride to the leeward mark!

Of course the class does not necessarily advocate such rash sailing adventures, but it does go to show that speed, coupled with ease of handling, are the hallmarks of this design.

While there is clearly a great deal of focus on new boats and new fleets, the class has not forgotten the 65 owners who originally gave this class its chance at life. The Viper Association is desperately seeking the remaining missing boats that were scattered to the winds after the dissolution of the original class in the late 90s, with the intent of offering the owners of the original boats a chance to bring their craft up to 2006 specification at a fraction of retail cost, and to incorporate the original Bennett boats and the new Rondar Raceboats boats alike into the revamped Viper 640 Class Association.

For more information on the Viper 640 Class, to register an existing boat with the Class Association or to find out more about the fleet purchases, please contact the Viper 640 Class Association President, Justin Scott at , or visit the class website.

02/07/06