Articolo boat 0115

January 2015 www.boatinternational.com

The designer everyone is talking about

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Because it’s Owners such as Brigitte Bardot, Sean Connery and Princess Grace of Monaco have made Rivas one of the best known boats of all time - and, some say, one of the wisest investments on water.

Is it really true? Simon de Burton investigates

Clockwise from far left: Brigitte Bardot on a 5m Junior; the Tritone was the first twin-engined Riva; Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and children on their famous Tritone. Main image: Prince Rainier’s Tritone sold for €403,000

W

e’ve all heard the saying about boats being “holes in the water into which you throw money” and, by and large, it’s depressingly accurate. But while no boat could truly be described as a copper-bottomed investment, wooden Rivas at least have a reputation for being more watertight than most.

But is it true that old Rivas really do represent nautical nirvana by combining fun, glamour, performance and style with minimal depreciation? Or, as often happens with classic cars, are our rosetinted spectacles simply obscuring the less pleasant reality of a heavy

purchase price, high maintenance costs and the likelihood of taking a hit when it’s time to move on?

One man who knows better than most is Alexandre Latscha, the president of the Riva Club de France – just one of a dozen “chapters” of the Riva Historical Society (RHS) operating in Europe and the US. Of the 4,000-plus classic Rivas built between the late 1940s and 1996, more than 2,000 survivors are recorded on the RHS register, with “forgotten” examples still being occasionally unearthed.

“Wooden Rivas have a reputation as being symbolic of the playboy era,” says Latscha, who owns a 1962 Super Florida that he bought

w w w. b o a t i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m | J a n u a r y 2 0 1 5

PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF FERRETTI GROUP; COURTESY OF MONACO BOAT SERVICE

worth it

R I VA :

Riva’s roots go right back to 1842, when a young

A

L O N G

H I S T O R Y

Carlo was inspired by the products of the

O F

G L A M O U R

of wooden Rivas and, although Carlo introduced the

Pietro Riva began repairing and building yachts on

American Chris-Craft company, for which he was an

fibreglass Rudy in 1969, the future looked bleak and

Lake Iseo, northern Italy. But it was his great-

agent, and used Chris-Craft and Chrysler engines in

he sold the company in 1970.

grandson, the legendary Carlo Riva (above), who

Rivas before developing the firm’s own Crusader

had the vision to create a range of wooden-hulled

power units that prevailed from 1967 to 1996.

speedboats that were to become the epitome of the jet-set era of the 1950s and 1960s.

The arrival of fibreglass as a boatbuilding material sounded the death knell for the viability

After decades in the doldrums, Riva was bought and revived in 2000 by the Ferretti Group, which uses the Riva name on a new range of high-end, contemporary yachts.

Clockwise from top left: Sophia Loren in Venice, 1955; Prince Rainier in 1954; the cockpit of Dracula III, a 1962 Riva Super Ariston that once sold for £385,250; glamour aboard a Riva; Dracula III; Paul Newman in 1963; George Clooney films a Mercedes advert on Lake Iseo, the home of Riva, in 2012

THE MOST EXPENSIVE C L A S S I C R I VA E V E R This was probably an Aquarama, which crossed the block at Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee, Florida, back in 2011, for an impressive $975,000.

Bidders from around the world competed to own the boat, which was considered extra special, because it was the last of the original, wooden-hulled Rivas to be sold to the public.

Hull No.774 was completed in 1996 and delivered new to the founding family of the giant Sony Corporation on 23 December 1998.

Surely the ultimate Christmas present, it was one of six “End of the Era” commemorative editions produced. Its owners, however, clocked up fewer than 20 hours aboard her in 12 years, with their most ambitious voyage being a return trip across Lake Garda for lunch.

T H E

R I VA S

WI T H

P E D I G R E E

Classic Rivas now change hands for anything from

had belonged to legendary playboy Gunter Sachs,

£50,000 to £500,000, depending on the model,

resulted in it selling for £385,250.

the condition and who has owned it. In 2012, for

But few Rivas can boast the gold-plated

The Prince and his young wife, the former Hollywood star Grace Kelly, were often to be seen having fun in the boat off Monaco’s shores. This

example, a 1962 Riva Super Ariston was offered for

provenance of one Tritone, which was commissioned

undoubtedly helped it to achieve €403,000 when

sale by Sotheby’s at a sensible pre-sale estimate of

new in 1958 by a Milanese textile tycoon as a gift to

it came under the hammer at RM Auctions in

£80,000 to £100,000, but the fact that Dracula III

His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Monaco last May.

in 1999 and a more recently acquired 1968 Ariston. “All the famous images of stars such as Brigitte Bardot, Peter Sellers, Sean Connery and Richard Burton behind the

someone to maintain it. Most people don’t, which, of course, makes them less of a tempting proposition.”

Investors that do take the plunge face a

wheel have made them one of the best-known boats of all time.

“The glamorous image often attracts people to want to own one, but it really isn’t something that should be entered into lightly, as it is very easy to make big and extremely expensive mistakes,” he warns.

“You need to think very carefully before buying, especially when considering a restoration project. It’s difficult to know

dilemma: to actually use the boat, or keep it safe, away from the harmful environments for which it was built. Latscha says many owners end up reluctant to use their pride and joy for fear of it becoming damaged.

“When you’re using a Riva, you can’t, for example, afford to bump a mooring or knock against another boat because it will damage the varnish and open up a way for water to penetrate,” he warns.

how much work is going to be involved in a restoration until you actually undertake it, and it is therefore very easy to lose control of costs. The bare minimum you can expect to lay out on the restoration of a five-metre Junior – the smaller model made famous by Bardot – is €40,000. But it can easily rise to

T H E R A R E S T R I VA Riva owners may commonly have been rich and famous, but it was rare to get special treatment; however, Carlo Riva broke his rule in the case of the Como industrialist, champion sailor and Riva patron, Achille Roncoroni. In 1960 Roncoroni persuaded the company to build him a one-off

€80,000 and, with most Juniors currently fetching around €35,000, you would struggle to get your money back.”

version of the Tritone Special model. He wanted the best, fastest and largest Riva ever. What he got was an 8.3m wood-clad wonder powered

The comparison with classic cars is also likely to lead you into trouble, according to Peter Wallman from RM Auctions, one of the go-to auction houses worldwide for buyers

by two high-performance, marinised Cadillac Eldorado V8 engines, each producing 325hp to push the boat to a stunning 60mph.

The unique interior had red, white and blue front

seeking a classic Riva.

“Rivas represent the very essence of the Dolce Vita era and speak of a time when the rich and famous seemed far more carefree

seats that could be laid flat to let occupants sunbathe away from prying eyes. The dashboard featured sparkling, chrome bezel instruments befitting the Cadillac-powered Special.

than they do today. Riva boats provide a chance to get back into that world – but they don’t really compare with classic cars as an investment.

“People can easily keep a car in the garage

Roncoroni used the boat, Ribot III, mostly on Como, and kept her until 1970 before selling her to someone who has owned her ever since.

And, true to his word, Carlo Riva ensured Ribot III

PHOTOGRAPHS: ROBERTA RASTRELLI; GETTY IMAGES; CORBIS; COURTESY OF SOTHEBY’S

and take it for a drive on a sunny day. With a wooden Riva you need to have easy access to somewhere to use it, somewhere to store it and

T H E

TRITONE

SUPER TRITONE (1950-66)

remained a one-off, even turning down a request for a similar craft from King Hussein of Jordan.

M O S T

ARISTON

SUPER ARISTON (1950-74)

P O P U L A R

F LO R I DA

SUPER FLORIDA (1952-69)

What you absolutely must do, though, is have access to a reputable specialist who can look after your classic Riva to the required standard, he says. This is why the greatest concentration of these boats is to be found in the Italian lakes, notably on Lake Iseo, which is the base of Riva RAM, the repair and maintenance service established in 1957 by Carlo Riva.

But if the potential pitfalls of Riva

ownership don’t put you off, says Latscha, they can be among the most rewarding of boats to own: “There is really nothing else quite like being in a Riva on a beautiful sunny day – and one that has been properly restored and maintained is an absolute joy. They are extremely reliable and as fantastic as they always were.”

And if you buy well, he says, “you will have a beautiful boat that should at least hold its value and may even increase”. B Restoration and sales: riva-world.com

(Netherlands); riva-ram.it (Italy); riva-mbs.com (Monaco); rivarevival.co.uk (UK); rivahistorical.org (US)

C L A S S I C

R I VA S

JUNIOR

O LY M P I C (1969-83)

(1972-83)

The late 1960s replacement

Named after the Mexico

Riva’s move into fibreglass

(1967-72)

R U DY

At nearly 8m, this was a long,

The single-engine Ariston

Featuring a large, sunken

for the basic Florida, the

Olympic Games of 1968,

measured 5.75m and used a

powerful version of Riva’s

measures 6.7m and features

sundeck and a single engine,

5.6m Junior found fame as

the 6.5m Olympic

single Crusader engine.

Tritone, its first twin-engine

a distinctive rounded stern

the 5.59m Florida grew to

the choice of Brigitte Bardot

was the last wooden boat

Not considered a true

boat and biggest thus far

and wooden saxboard.

6.27m in Super format.

and Peter Sellers.

designed by Riva.

Riva by many.

Value €200,000-€300,000

Value €80,000-€140,000

Value €40,000-€75,000

Value €30,000-€40,000

Value €50,000-€85,000

Value €20,000-€35,000