ANDY’S BOAT On average, it takes about six months to build a new Viking sportfish from when the hull is laid up in the factory to when the owner finally takes delivery in Atlantic City, but the true build process can take a lifetime. For Andy and Sherry Curtis, the dream of owning a brand-new Viking was decades in the making and finally became a reality in the early Spring of 2025. Andy says that his vision for boat ownership began at six years old, when he bought a small battery-operated model boat from the five and dime store—a toy he still owns today. Ever since that day, he has been working hard to make his childhood dream come true. He started out in the late 1960’s cutting lawns around the neighborhood for two dollars a yard and trimming ditches for an extra 50 cents. When not cutting lawns or going to class, Andy was active in the Boy Scouts, where he learned some of the valuable life lessons that would eventually pay dividends for his life and career. Andy recounted one such lesson from a local businessman who served as an Assistant Scout Master in his troop. “He said, ‘when you grow up, you’re going to find a secret to life is that you can only do so much with your two hands, but if you take your two hands and get a whole bunch of other good hands, you’ll live a good life.’ And that’s what I did.” Andy spent the following years working toward his dream, completing school, marrying Sherry, and eventually starting their family construction business in 1985. Things were not always easy though. The couple had to make many sacrifices to get the business off the ground, most memorable of which was selling their prized 1969 Camaro Z 28 to get the money for the company’s first truck and tractor. Fast forward to today, and the couple operates one of the largest road and bridge construction companies in Virginia with multiple locations and over 300 dedicated employees. Andy has also built an impressive classic car collection since the business took off, which now includes an identical Camaro to the one that started their business. GOING OFFSHORE Andy’s offshore fishing journey began in the 1980’s out of Fisherman’s Wharf in Virginia Beach. There he fished alongside some of Bluewater’s first Viking customers after the company became the Mid-Atlantic dealers. Sherry embraced the offshore lifestyle more recently, when the couple commissioned a 41’ Albemarle Express. While the family enjoyed making memories on that new boat, they felt isolated between the small tower and the cockpit, and craved more space so that everyone could be together. Finally, on one trip to the Norfolk Canyon, Sherry decided that enough was enough and it was time to step up to a larger Viking. After extensive research, Andy and Sherry narrowed their search down to two boats: theViking54and theViking58. Theycalled into the Bluewater main office and were VIRGINIA COUPLE REALIZES THEIR DREAMS ABOARD NEW VIKING 58C 22 BLUEWATER
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