DECEMBER '08 / JANUARY '09
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click o
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click o
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
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Long may you cruise
WORDS: KEVAN WOLFE
The most technically advanced Riviera yet.
It came as no surprise when Riviera turned up at the Sydney International Boat Show with an Enclosed Flybridge 70. After all, it was the worst kept secret in the industry.
Given the talent in the company's in-house New Product Development department headed by Phil Candler and the close association Riviera has with Frank Mulder, one of Europe's leading naval architects, it was not a matter of 'if', but 'when' the boat would be launched on the market.
FIVE YEAR PLAN
It was five years from concept to the launch of Riviera's flagship in the early hours of one morning in August. The first impression of the craft is its size. It looks and is a big boat with its wide 6.32m beam and flybridge sitting high above the water. It dwarfs the new 61 Enclosed Flybridge model and dominates everything else around 70ft on the water.
For Candler and his team, the brief was simple: create the largest, most luxurious and technically advanced Riviera ever. It was an invitation for the team to express their talent and creativity—and they responded with enthusiasm.
Mega yacht designer, Frank Mulder, was responsible for the hull and running surfaces of the craft. Mulder designed the 35m superyacht Moonraker; when it was launched in 1992 it was the fastest superyacht in the world—and probably still is. Moonraker is capable of 66 knots—that's the equivalent of 120km/h on land and mind-boggling stuff for a boat that size. She would make short work of the run up to the Gold Coast from Sydney. Five hours after clearing Sydney Heads would see the boat tied up in a super berth at the Gold Coast City Marina.
read on below advertisement
The Riviera 70 is first and foremost a long-range cruiser and Mulder has designed the hull for big seas and offshore conditions. From the rake of the bow—which has more than just a little hint of a Carolina bow and is different to anything Riviera has done before—to the clean, racy lines, this is a performance hull, which, as I found during a recent run off the Gold Coast, is very much at home in the open sea.
LAID OUT LIKE NO OTHER
The Riviera 70 is the biggest production boat presently being built in Australia and because it's such an expensive boat—around $5 million drive away—the owner is given a lot of latitude in the design of the interior and cabins.
This boat has a mezzanine deck in front of the cockpit—an optional configuration—set up for alfresco dining. This configuration also has a module that includes a lounge and access to the engine room through a door from the cockpit.
The cabinetry and finish in the main saloon and right throughout the boat is a testament to the work of the Australian craftsmen who put the boat together. The first boat was built across the road from Riviera, at Azzura Yachts. They are custom build specialists and nothing I've seen from Taiwan or China would beat the interior fit-out.
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The most technically advanced Riviera yet.
It came as no surprise when Riviera turned up at the Sydney International Boat Show with an Enclosed Flybridge 70. After all, it was the worst kept secret in the industry.
Given the talent in the company's in-house New Product Development department headed by Phil Candler and the close association Riviera has with Frank Mulder, one of Europe's leading naval architects, it was not a matter of 'if', but 'when' the boat would be launched on the market.
FIVE YEAR PLAN
It was five years from concept to the launch of Riviera's flagship in the early hours of one morning in August. The first impression of the craft is its size. It looks and is a big boat with its wide 6.32m beam and flybridge sitting high above the water. It dwarfs the new 61 Enclosed Flybridge model and dominates everything else around 70ft on the water.
For Candler and his team, the brief was simple: create the largest, most luxurious and technically advanced Riviera ever. It was an invitation for the team to express their talent and creativity—and they responded with enthusiasm.
Mega yacht designer, Frank Mulder, was responsible for the hull and running surfaces of the craft. Mulder designed the 35m superyacht Moonraker; when it was launched in 1992 it was the fastest superyacht in the world—and probably still is. Moonraker is capable of 66 knots—that's the equivalent of 120km/h on land and mind-boggling stuff for a boat that size. She would make short work of the run up to the Gold Coast from Sydney. Five hours after clearing Sydney Heads would see the boat tied up in a super berth at the Gold Coast City Marina.
read on below advertisement
The Riviera 70 is first and foremost a long-range cruiser and Mulder has designed the hull for big seas and offshore conditions. From the rake of the bow—which has more than just a little hint of a Carolina bow and is different to anything Riviera has done before—to the clean, racy lines, this is a performance hull, which, as I found during a recent run off the Gold Coast, is very much at home in the open sea.
LAID OUT LIKE NO OTHER
The Riviera 70 is the biggest production boat presently being built in Australia and because it's such an expensive boat—around $5 million drive away—the owner is given a lot of latitude in the design of the interior and cabins.
This boat has a mezzanine deck in front of the cockpit—an optional configuration—set up for alfresco dining. This configuration also has a module that includes a lounge and access to the engine room through a door from the cockpit.
The cabinetry and finish in the main saloon and right throughout the boat is a testament to the work of the Australian craftsmen who put the boat together. The first boat was built across the road from Riviera, at Azzura Yachts. They are custom build specialists and nothing I've seen from Taiwan or China would beat the interior fit-out.
next page »
« go back
