Coming up Aces

Riviera takes flyer on a new
sport cruiser design

By Dudley Dawson

It could have been a recipe for disaster: Mix one brand new boat, two brand new owners, a sea trial, a whistling spring wind, and a jetlagged journalist. Yes, there were a few wild cards in the deck, but Stephen Milne, director of brand and communications, had an ace in the hole—the brand new boat was a Riviera 5800 Sport Yacht fitted with triple Volvo Penta IPS600 drives. At least maneuverability wouldn’t be a problem.
Because it would be a year until the builder’s prize package would be viewable in the U.S., Stephen arrange for Southern Boating to trial the boat in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf. Arriving at the Auckland dealership on a Monday morning, I sensed a greater air of anticipation and enthusiasm than usually associated with a sea trial. For many of the employees, it was their first glimpse of the builder’s precedent-setting yacht; seems it had only been off-loaded from a freighter just three days before.

Specifications:

LOA: 63’
Beam: 17’ 6”
Draft: 4’ 2”
Weight: 46,959 (dry)
Power: 3 x Volvo Penta
IPS600 @ 435hp
Fuel/Water: 700/198 U.S. gals.
Top/Cruising Speed: 38.3/24 Knots
Range: 320 nm @ 24 knots
MSRP: $1,590,000 (base)

Contact:

Riviera Marine Pty.
Coomera, Australia
61-7-5501-0014
riviera.com.au

Making small talk, I asked R Marine dealer Bruce McGill how the owners liked running a boat with pod drives.
“Hard to say,” Bruce said. “Their maiden voyage will be with you.” I hoped my innocuous response covered up the fact I thought he was nuts. Most yacht delivery periods involve a week or two of make ready and testing—these folks had barely finished peeling the shrink wrap off the hull.
“Oh gosh, I feel like I’m imposing. Getting a new boat is special moment and here we are in the way,” I said in hushed tones to Stephen.
“Nonsense. They think it will be fun,” he said, ushering me aboard. Before I could remark that it wouldn’t fit my definition, a calm, smiling woman introduced herself as Sylvia Scott, welcomed me aboard and apologized for being out of breath.
“We sold our last boat a lot faster than we thought and we just had two days to get all our gear transferred from that boat to this one,” Sylvia said, firmly establishing her candidacy for sainthood in my mind. There wasn’t the first box or pile of gear to be seen.
Terry Scott was the very picture of a kid on Christmas morning and our arrival meant he could finally turn the key and go. Fortunately, the boat’s handsome two-seat starboard helm is arranged to handle a crowd, because with the joystick control for harbor maneuvers, everybody had to watch. A tight slipway, a congested marina, new owners, peek-a-boo-drizzle, and building breeze—no pod-drive design team could have concocted a better test track. Excusing herself from the gearhead discussion at the helm, Sylvia beckoned me below to share her impressions of the boat they had bought off a set of plans and renderings before the model had even been introduced.
She had me at the atrium staircase, a design feature that immediately dispenses with the often cave-like corridor to lower deck accommodation on a sport cruiser. Even under leaden skies, the huge windscreen above directed ample light below, which picks up the warm glow of the cherry paneling. The space under the stairs conceals a washer, dryer and copious storage. To port was a bunk cabin, which Sylvia said could be turned into a galley for owners in need of a more formal main deck, but which she and Terry planned to fill with grandkids. On starboard was a twin cabin with one and half times the headroom of the other cabins to increase its sense of spaciousness. In 20 seconds, the time it takes to pull two pins and flip down a toe kick, the twins convert to a queen-size berth.
Sylvia picked the boat’s interior color scheme, working with Riviera’s in-house designers for suggestions on trims and pillow fabrics. The resulting color palette is neutral and soothing but far from beige. The tailored un-fussy style adds to the relaxation. The forward guest cabin features an island queen berth and is large enough to be mistaken for a master suite, which courtesy of the space saving afforded by the IPS drives, is full beam aft.
Pointing out the various features of her large suite, Sylvia concluded by saying, “I feel just like I’m in a resort.” One look out the pair of triple vertical portlights, however, showed that this was a resort traveling at 22 knots, the yacht’s easy pace at 72 percent power. At this speed, fuel consumption is approximately 44 gph. The speed was imperceptible, the stateroom was whisper quiet—even though the master is aft in the accommodation, it’s still separated from the engines by a utility space and the tender garage.
Retuning to the main deck, the miles flew by as we crossed the Tamaki Straight to anchor in the lee of Motuihe Island for lunch. With the large port and starboard windows and a full glass door and windows aft, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. When asked how they had the confidence to order the boat off a set of plans, Sylvia said that for her, it was the layout with it’s open galley aft and a drop down window connecting the space to the aft deck where Terry has a large barbecue setup.  “It’s the way we live,” she said.
For Terry, it was the power plant. “I’m sold on pods,” he said, and as if to demonstrate put the boat in a series of hard over turns. Despite the speed and the chop, the boat responded by simply carving the turns tight and flat without the guests having to hang on for their lives.
“Riviera ticked all the boxes for us. The people at Riviera,” says Terry, “have a passion to build the best and they were open to suggestions from an owner’s point of view during the design and build phase. The attention to detail and quality of finish is remarkable. Value for money, it can not be beaten.  To me, it’s a small Super Yacht.”