Australian yacht builder Riviera has launched its 58 Sports Motor Yacht, the latest model in this six-yacht series, which also includes 46-, 50, 64-, 68- and 72-footers.

The yacht has a three-stateroom, three-head layout, making it a solid fit for extended cruising with family and friends. The staterooms are accessed via a stairway on centerline from the salon. The owners’ stateroom is full-beam with a queen-size berth, en suite head, walk-in closet and a breakfast bar.

In a press release Riviera stated, “The space aft of the master stateroom can be personalised to suit the owners’ needs; perhaps as a laundry, utility room, crew cabin, additional accommodation with a separate bathroom, or even a mini gymnasium.”

The forepeak VIP also has a queen-size berth with walkaround room as well as an en suite head. The third guest stateroom is abaft and to port with twin single berths with bedside tables. The berths slide together with the push of a button for couples. The third stateroom is across the companionway to starboard, serving as the day head.

The efficiency of the belowdecks layout is also reflected in the salon arrangement, creating several social zones.

It starts with the 58 Sports motor Yacht’s U-shaped galley aft, which is penned to easily serve guests in the salon as well as those seated at the shaded al fresco deck and in the cockpit. Open the galley window to create a seamless connection between the inside and outside spaces.

Forward and to port is an L-shaped settee, designed to let guests take in the views underway via nearly 360 degrees of glass. Abaft to starboard is a U-shaped dinette for casual meals. Directly across is the internal stairway that leads to the enclosed flybridge helm station.

The 58 Sports Motor Yacht’s aforementioned al fresco deck, which is protected from the elements via glass quarter panels, is cleverly arranged just a couple of steps up from the cockpit. This perch creates clear views aft to watch the kids swimming or to keep an eye on trolled baits when fishing for dinner. There is U-shaped seating around a high-gloss teak dining table to starboard with a settee to port.

In addition to being a formidable cruising platform, the 58 Sports Motor Yacht’s cockpit can be arranged for angling enthusiasts, diving and water sports fans, entertainment-centric cruisers or a little bit of all of it. A nearly full-beam and optional hydraulic swim platform lets owners launch and retrieve a tender or PWC.

There are two more al fresco entertainment spaces on board the 58 Sports Motor Yacht. The first is on the foredeck, where guests can enjoy an L-shaped lounge as well as seating that converts to a pad, all set around a table for meals on the hook. Just add carbon fiber poles to put up an awning for shade from the midday sun. Owners can also add a davit and stow their tender here.

The final al fresco next space is found on the after deck of the all-weather flybridge. Riviera says, “In similar style to the salon below, the flybridge opens and flows out to the aft deck. At anchor, this is a splendid private retreat or boutique entertaining area complete with wrap-around corner lounge, folding timber table, wet bar, refrigerator, sink and solid surface benchtop. To assist the skipper, the aft deck has an additional joystick control station with excellent visibility for precise docking or sport fishing.”

Forward and to port is the helm station with two hand-stitched-leather seats. According to Riviera, “The helm is state-of-the-art, featuring touchscreen navigation and operation technology…” There is also an electric sunroof and side sliding windows that enable fresh breezes.

Power for the Riviera 58 Sports Motor Yacht is a twin 1,000 hp Volvo Penta IPS1350 diesels.

Take the next step: rivieraaustralia.com

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The Riviera 58 convertible has room for the cruising family or fishing team with a four-stateroom, three-head layout. The salon has a dinette, a galley with an undercounter fridge and freezer, Corian countertops, and high-gloss teak cabinets.

The 58 has a warped hull form with a fine entry transitioning to 10 degrees of transom deadrise. Optional twin 1,400 hp Caterpillar 3412E diesels help the 58 hit a 36.3-knot top hop and 32.6-knot fast cruise. An enclosed flybridge provides climate-controlled cruising. At press time, 10 Riviera 58s were available, ranging from $450,000 to $1,198,000.

From the Archive

“Her power steering is responsive, and she cuts tight, high-speed turns without hesitation. She rises evenly to a plane, and trim tabs seem necessary only for fine-tuning athwartships trim. Visibility is excellent. The balcony station allows the skipper a cockpit view when he’s handling fish or backing into a slip.”

— Yachting, October 2007

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The Riviera 645 SUV is designed to be a master of many things, including family cruising, watersports and chasing fish—or even a little bit of all of it.

From a cruising perspective, the Australian builder’s new SUV-series flagship can be set up with a three- or four-stateroom layout. In either scenario, the master stateroom is full-beam and amidships. Hullside windows flank the room, creating ocean views while bringing natural light into the space. A settee to port makes a cozy nook for reading a book on the hook.

There is a step-up island berth in the forepeak VIP stateroom. Abaft the VIP and to port, the third stateroom has twin berths for the kids. Across is the fourth stateroom for two more. There are three heads. In the three-stateroom layout, the fourth stateroom becomes a lower-deck lounge.

For inside entertaining, the 645 SUV’s salon has an L-shaped leather settee to starboard across from a 50-inch LED TV. An ottoman and a foldaway dining table are also here. Owners have two layout options just forward of the settee. The wet-bar option is called the Newport Edition, while the two-seat club-lounge setup is called the Classic Edition.

A helm station with two seats is on centerline with a companion seat to port. Abaft that companion seat is side-deck access via a pantograph door for line handling and fender access, as well as to transit to the foredeck to drop the hook.

The Newport and Classic editions also have separate foredeck arrangements. In the Newport Edition, there is a bench seat on centerline, a fixed teak dining table and a sun pad. The Classic Edition has a U-shaped lounge for eight to 10 guests. Both layouts are available with an optional sunshade.

Like alfresco entertaining? The 645 SUV’s cockpit can have a centerline transom lounge for three guests. There is swim-platform access via transom doors flanking the lounge.

If an owner has catching dinner on his mind, the transom seat can be swapped out for an in-transom, lighted livewell with a viewing window to keep an eye on the baits and ensure they’re fresh and frisky.

Engine choices for the Riviera 645 SUV are twin 1,300 hp (standard) or optional 1,550 hp MAN diesels. The boatbuilder projects a top-end speed of 34 knots with the larger motors.

Take the next step: rivieraaustralia.com

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Most yachts are designed for a specific purpose, be it long-distance cruising, sport fishing or entertaining. In this regard, Riviera’s 64 Sports Motor Yacht is something of an anomaly. It can do all those things at once.

For owners who want to make their way from Maine to Miami, pulling back the throttles to 6.6 knots will nearly double the range needed. The marlin are biting? The Riviera 64 I got aboard had hydraulic outriggers, a transom livewell and a cockpit large enough for a half-dozen anglers to fight fish at the same time. Cocktail hour has arrived? When I was aboard with eight people, it seemed as if there were a mere skeleton crew.

As for fit and finish, there is five-coat, high-gloss-varnished, book-matched walnut woodwork. Foldout sections of the salon’s dinette are book-matched on one side and crafted with a starburst pattern on the other. Decking is old-growth teak, sourced for renewability. The enclosed bridge, accessed via an interior staircase, has a wet bar, L-shaped settee and forward lounge in addition to the helm and mate seats. In the galley are a wine chiller, dishwasher and full-size refrigerator with freezer drawers. These are capped off behind more glossy walnut and are secured shut with beefy locking latches.

The thoughtful design elements continue outside. The 64′s open bridge aft, for instance, has an L-shaped settee and a set of controls including a multifunction display.

Belowdecks are three guest staterooms: a queen berth forward, Pullman berths to starboard, and a pair of twin berths that slide together into a double to port. The full-beam master is on this deck amidships. Every stateroom is peaceful and quiet, a function of having real bulkheads as opposed to thin veneer partitions. The quiet- ness is particularly surprising in the master, which is closest to the engine room. The stateroom’s watertight bulkhead door was closed when I approached it, and I could barely hear a sound, but when I swung it open, I discovered that both gensets were running behind all the sound-deadening material.

I found similar tranquility while standing above the engine room, where cruisers and anglers will spend a lot of time. Riviera calls this space the “back porch.” Technically, the area is a mezzanine raised above cockpit level and separated from the salon. But that term doesn’t accurately describe the space.

Walk out of the salon through the stainless-steel-framed sliding door, and—rather than enter the cockpit—you find a room very much like a screened-in porch. Parts of the sides and the back are enclosed (or not) with clear canvas. An L-shaped dinette is to starboard, and a settee is to port.

The area is sure to be the dining spot of choice when cooking up the catch of the day on the cockpit’s integrated electric grill. When someone is prepping a meal in the galley, access to the back porch is easy because a window next to the salon door swings up and open on hinges, connecting the two areas.

Owners who prefer an outdoor experience more akin to lounging on a wide-open, sun-warmed patio can walk up to the bow. There’s a full-size settee up there, plus a lounge and cocktail table.

Usually, choosing a yacht requires making some sacrifices. An owner might swap luxury for fishability, usable interior space for usable exterior space, range for speed, and so on. But the Riviera 64 Sports Motor Yacht left me scratching my head, trying to think of what someone would have to give up to own it.

I’m still thinking—and probably will be for a long time to come.

Take the next step: rivieraaustralia.com

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Riviera Boats in Australia is preparing for the April world premiere of the 645 SUV, the new flagship model in its SUV series.

The builder launched the SUV series in 2012, and the current flagship of the six-model collection is the 545.

Riviera created the new 645 SUV in collaboration with 4D Designs to include a choice of three or four staterooms, three heads, and a space aft that can be set up as a utility area, crew’s quarters or guest stateroom. The yacht also has walkaround side decks and a foredeck with entertaining space for eight to 10 people.

“The tremendous versatility of the SUV design lends itself perfectly to a larger yacht, and the 645 will certainly take our SUV to a new level with even more space, performance, cruising range, accommodation and luxury,” Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst stated in a press release.

For power, owners can choose twin 1,300 hp MAN V-8s or twin 1,550 hp MAN V-12s. Cruise speed is expected to be about 30 knots, with a top hop of 34 knots. Fuel capacity is about 1,700 gallons.

Inside, owners can choose the Classic Edition or the Newport Edition. In both versions, the galley is to port with the helm on centerline.

Who will own Hull No. 1 of the Riviera 645 SUV? Ray and Jenny Haddrell, current owners of a 575 SUV in Melbourne, Australia. The 645 will be the seventh consecutive Riviera the Haddrells have owned. They opted for the V-8 engines with an Express Joystick System that marries the hydraulic bow and stern thrusters with the Twin Disc gearboxes.

For more information, visit: rivieraaustralia.com

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Riviera Yachts in Australia has added the 505 SUV to its five-model lineup in the SUV series, which starts with a 395 SUV and goes up to a 575 SUV.

The 505 SUV has a new hull from the keel up, along with raised mezzanine seating inspired by a similar feature aboard the Riviera 64 Sports Motor Yacht. The entertainment area is covered for rain and sun protection.

Another relaxation zone is at the foredeck, which has a pathway from port to starboard so nobody has to step over the sun pads.

Onboard standard equipment includes a stainless-steel Ultra Anchor along with 164 feet of chain; dual transom doors for access to the hydraulic swim platform; and a barbecue, wet bar and fridge/freezer in the nearly 110-square-foot cockpit.

Standard power is a pair of 600-horsepower Volvo Penta D8-IPS800s. Optional engines are 725-horsepower Volvo Penta D11-IPS950s.

On the main deck, the U-shaped galley is aft and to port, positioned to serve the mezzanine as well as the indoor dinette. An L-shaped lounge is adjacent to the galley and extends to the helm station, which is also to starboard. That station has twin pedestal seats, a guest lounge to port and a sliding sunroof overhead. There are joystick engine controls and twin 16-inch Volvo Penta Glass Bridge displays.

Overnight accommodations are for six guests in three staterooms with two heads. The master stateroom spans the yacht’s full beam.

“Boating enthusiasts are really going to love the new 505 SUV,” Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst stated in a press release. “She perfectly complements our growing SUV range and, coupled with IPS performance, economy and ease of use, offers so much for families looking to put fun and freedom back into their weekends.”

How many SUV yachts has Riviera launched? More than 120, according to the builder.

For more information, visit: rivieraaustralia.com

Quick Specs:

• Length overall: 60′8”
• Max. beam: 16’10”
• Draft: 4’5”
• Fuel capacity: 1,057 Gal.
• Freshwater capacity: 198 Gal.

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