Viper

Viper is a sailboat brand best known for the Viper 640, a one-design sportboat first built in 1996. The class was originally built in the United States by Viper Boats, and later production shifted to Rondar Raceboats in the United Kingdom as the class builder.

The Viper 640 was designed by Brian Bennett for racing and launched in 1996. Early production was handled by Viper Boats in the United States, but that company later went bankrupt in 1999. In 2005, Rondar Raceboats became the official class manufacturer, and the class describes Rondar as its sole builder for many years afterward. In 2026, SERO Sailing was appointed as the new official builder for the class, with production planned in Marine City, Michigan.

The documented Viper model range in the sources centers on the Viper 640, a trailerable sportboat designed for racing. It is described as a 6.40-meter boat sailed by a crew of three, with class rules limiting construction to class-appointed builders. The class materials and builder pages emphasize one-design consistency, performance, and strong support for racing fleets. Outside the Viper 640 class, the name Viper is used by other unrelated boat brands, so the builder identity here refers specifically to the sailing class and its approved builders.