Riviera Yachts

[big cheese]

Need your input please.
Looking at buying a Riviera 47 Sport fish with Cummins QSM11 660hp.
Riviera is an Australia built..Anyone know about there build quality..

[aussie riv 47]

Originally Posted by big cheese

Need your input please.

Looking at buying a Riviera 47 Sport fish with Cummins QSM11 660hp.

Riviera is an Australia built..Anyone know about there build quality..

I have a Riviera 47 with QSM11's in it. I run a Facebook page called Riviera boat Owners Australia https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428574057445157/ this shows all of the maintenance issues and fixes i have done over the last 4 years. Happy Riving!!!

[mickt243]

Some friends have rivs.... Quality wise, about the same as our searay.

Of course, the mechanicals will be the same between boat brands, Mercruiser, cummins, cat, Volvo etc.

[shufti]

Another Riv owner here. Very happy with mine. 1988 35' Flybridge. Apart from needing a re-paint/gelcoat she's still solid as a rock - but floatier.

PS- Aussie Riv - never even thought to look on FB for a Riv group. HAve just sent a join request.

[Mjdap]

My wife and I just purchased a 2017 Riviera 445 SUV with a 132 hours. The boat survey reported excellent condition.
Our boating focus is more cruise than fish. We wanted more amenities for life aboard, cruise, entertain, and host extended families overnight. I wanted the platform that allowed both coastal and offshore fishing. The technology associated with pods, lower db levels, joystick operations and added cabin space were real advantages to us. The open cockpit without the molded seats and storage were attractive to us.

I look forward to see how it fishes, since I have had grady whites and recently a Tiara 3800 open and have enjoyed each of them.

Our current boating area is long island sound but I have been slipped in Cape May NJ and the upper Chesapeake.

We are approaching retirement age and felt this would be a great way to explore sea faring adventures.

We looked at other configurations, love the tiara brand, but felt this checked most of the boxes.

I plan to post more as we use the boat and will report the good and not so good.

[blazing928]

Rivs are renowned for rock solid build quality and sea worthy performance. Personally, I wouldn’t touch a Riv Volvo powered boat....

[TunaTom]

Pleas elaborate on why you wouldn’t touch a Riv with Volvo

[blazing928]

Hi TunaTom, my and friends experience has not been at all rosy with Volvo Penta service here in Victoria Australia. Expensive. Poor work. Failures of parts and Volvo won’t pay up. Parts very expensive compared to o/s.

eg, a new part, trim sensor, has failed almost straight away that can only be fixed by lifting boat. Volvo won’t pay for lift. So I couldn’t use boat at all. And it did fail on the water which if I hadn’t been able to start the motors would have require a tow back. It’s not the first time this part has failed in 12 months. I have worked out a fix so I can use boat.

Friends motor had to be replaced after about 200hrs and 1 year out of warranty. Broken valve, no reason, full service, nothing could be done, absolutely NO help from Volvo, $50k bill.

Yes the product IPS and my joystick stern drives work well, but back up is atrocious. Collusion on pricing. No product support. Porsche would teach them a lesson or two on customer service.

Maybe a shaft simple diesel would be ok!

Nothing wrong with Rivs, though I think they are a bit dated inside compared to Whitehaven or Maritimo.

Aust Riv dealers support the owner well, but I have a few experiences with them that I won’t go into on a public forum :-))

[Cwalther1]

I have a 43' flybridge with twin qsm11's. 635hp each. No major work needed, not the most fuel efficient, but can move it when you need to move it. It's a 2001 model, so I'm sure riviera has changed ownerships and management multiple times in 20+ years. Overall a solid boat, most problems are with electronics, fridges, freezers, autopilot, etc. It's listed for sale on galatiyachts.com if anyone is interested. To much boat for my girlfriend and me.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Cwalther1

....most problems are with electronics, fridges, freezers, autopilot, etc.

Fortunately, the engines, transmissions, shafts, struts, rudders, generator, fridge, freezer, auto-pilot, electronics, pumps, heads, microwave, heat/AC, battery charger, faucets, tables and posts, ladders, canvas, windshield, wipers, hatches, cleats, slider, gauges, throttles/shifters, cables, pedestal seat, stereo, latches, electrical panels, fuse bus', ......etc

Are all made by 3rd party vendors. The boat manufacturer simply makes the hull, sole and deck, then marries then together and installs the standard 3rd party items. Most of the boat builders have the dealers install the optional items.

Not to mention, the second those items are installed and delivered, they begin the process of degradation moving toward eventual failure.

The Three States of Any Item on a Boat

1) Just installed/replaced
2) About to fail
3) Broken

[Cwalther1]

I agree 100% Shrew. Things are gonna break, especially in Salt water. The Riviera hull, fiberglass and the Cummins engines have held up to the years much better than the 3rd party products.