{"id":53348,"date":"2017-10-02T22:07:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T02:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=53348"},"modified":"2023-05-08T08:58:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T12:58:12","slug":"have-it-all-the-riviera-68-smy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/have-it-all-riviera-68-smy\/","title":{"rendered":"Have It All: The Riviera 68 SMY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Have It All: The Riviera 68 SMY<\/span>\n Courtesy Riviera<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

“Regrets, I\u2019ve had a few.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

I couldn’t help but think of Frank Sinatra’s famous lyric while aboard the Riviera<\/a> 68 Sports Motor Yacht this past summer (Australia’s winter) in Sydney Harbour and offshore in the Tasman Sea. You see, earlier in the year I’d had to pass on an invitation to help deliver the yacht from the Riviera factory some 380 nautical miles north on the Gold Coast to the 50th annual Sydney International Boat Show. As I wheeled and toured the boat during my one-day sea trial instead, I kept thinking, Man, that would have been sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot to like about the 68 SMY, but the thing that really drew me in was the after section\u2019s layout. The 68 is a true hybrid boat, designed as much for elegant cruising as for offshore adventure. Her \u00adcockpit is an open, nearly Spartan space with enough room for dive tanks, Hawaiian slings, or even an optional fighting chair if game fishing is in the plans. A two-burner Kenyon \u201cbarbie\u201d forward can handle all the shrimp you throw on it, and has a sink and freezer beside it. The space has a boys\u2019 club feel \u2014 though the boat won\u2019t leave anyone else wanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe polled our owners and found that many of the men wanted a space for sports,\u201d says Stephen Milne, Riviera\u2019s director of brand and communications. \u201cHe might be a fisher, he might be a diver, and he can do that with this boat. But we found the ladies really wanted that mezzanine seating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Ah yes, the mezzanine. With a hardtop to shade it from the oft-harsh Australian sun, the deck has a dining settee that seats four at an aft bench seat, and another four on stowable chairs. A bar forward of that area connects to the salon\u2019s aft galley via an upward-opening window that joins the main deck\u2019s indoor and outdoor spaces. A flip-down TV in the hardtop is viewable from every seat in the space, so all at once you can sip your cocktail, watch your movie, enjoy the sea breezes and remind the chef either at the cockpit grill or in the galley not to put too much garlic on the grouper again, please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

That typically Australian aft galley setup also hints at this boat\u2019s ability to go for the seriously long \u00advoyages that Down Under yachtsmen in this part of the world need to make to leave their island continent. There are four (count \u2019em) Isotherm refrigerators as well as two freezers for food stowage. Airplane catches on the drawers and cabinets ensure that nothing goes flying in a rough seaway. Perhaps not surprisingly, on our test boat, it seemed like every one of those drawers and cabinets housed lowball and wineglasses \u2014 it\u2019s almost as if the Aussies have a reputation for enjoying a party or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Star Light, Star Bright<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n The 68\u2019s salon has lots of cool features, including air-conditioning vents lining the space so no one spot gets too cold, a pop-up 49-inch Samsung TV and two comfortable L-shaped lounges. My favorite detail is the staircase to the flybridge: Glass partitions are between each step to let in natural light.<\/span>\n Steve Back<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Other features that make the 68 game for rough seas include handholds throughout the engine room. They make it easier to check on the standard twin 1,550 hp MAN V-12 diesels that were aboard our test yacht (more powerful 1,800 or 1,900 hp MAN V-12s are options). Access to service points including the twin Cummins generators (rated at 27.5 kW and 13.5 kW) forward and to starboard is good, though a tight point forward and to port might be hard to reach. Cognizant of this, Riviera built a flip-up door into the crew quarters forward of the engine room for reaching the \u00adhydraulics systems and ball valves housed in that corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Riviera <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The 68 SMY is a gamer, posh as you could want, and rugged enough to explore the Aussie headlands.<\/span>\n Courtesy Riviera<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Another feature that speaks to the 68\u2019s seaworthiness is the 17-inch bulwark design along the side decks. Those bulwarks support beefy, 37-inch-high handrails that should give crew confidence when docking or moving forward in a seaway. The side decks lead to a bow deck with a recessed area \u00adforward for security when handling the anchor and its stainless-steel Muir windlass, as well as enough space for a 16-foot tender. Three plush bench seats can accommodate 11 people, ensuring the deck is not strictly utilitarian and can serve as an entertaining area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Riviera <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The Riviera 68 SMY is available for Americans to order now from the factory in Australia, and another, similar version is scheduled to debut at the 2018 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The Riviera 72 SMY should be nearly identical to the 68, except the cockpit will be 4 feet longer for extra fun and fishing.<\/span>\n Courtesy Riviera<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Once at sea, the Frank Mulder-designed yacht put on a tour de force. Her hull, which is hand-laid using vinylester resin, is solid below the waterline for strength and foam-cored above for weight savings. Carbon fiber is used in load-bearing spots such as where the swim platform bolts onto the transom. This all makes for a solid, exceptionally quiet ride. We splashed happily through the rolling 4-footers at 25 knots. When I dropped the hammer and put her full-steam ahead, the boat shot up to a zesty 30.5 knots, though her stability belied her speed, like a luxury sedan zipping down a highway. At 9 knots, the 68 (which has a fuel capacity of 1,849 gallons) has a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles \u2014 enough to voyage from Sydney to Fiji (or Miami to Nova \u00adScotia) \u2014 which is a pretty good poke without having to hit the fuel dock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Peel your eyes away from that sky for a moment and imagine what mischief you could get up to on the 68\u2019s wide-open cockpit.<\/span>\n Courtesy Riviera<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

After the sea trial, we took the yacht to her slip at the Sydney International Boat Show. At slow speeds, Riviera\u2019s company captain used the standard bow thruster and optional stern thruster to slither the yacht like an eel through the labyrinth of docks and lines. A control station aft and to port on the flybridge, with a Garmin screen, Twin Disc QuickShift controls and a joystick, was supremely handy, as was the complementary joystick to starboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Riviera <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The Riviera 68 SMY has a stand-up helm station aft on its flybridge that\u2019s useful for docking or backing down on a fish.<\/span>\n Courtesy Riviera<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

After the lines were set, I hopped onto the dock and soaked in the 68\u2019s burly lines. A sense of contentment washed over me; it was a day to remember. I got to crawl all over a beautiful boat, check out the rugged Australian coastline and do something I\u2019d never done before \u2014 bring a boat into a show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

So, yeah, maybe I did have a regret or two, but just like Ol\u2019 Blue Eyes said, they were too few to mention.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Riviera 68 Sports Motor Yacht is a mash-up of a rugged marine SUV and a luxurious cruiser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Kevin Koenig","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20171002","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"163","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The Riviera 68 Sports Motor Yacht is a mash-up of a rugged marine SUV and a luxurious cruiser.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Have It All: The Riviera 68 SMY %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"M6FO5G7TJJDOHHQTFHASJ27MHM","arc_website_url":"have-it-all-riviera-68-smy\/","custom_permalink":"have-it-all-riviera-68-smy\/","arc_subtype":"no-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[222,217,659,283,164],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}