Riviera 70 Flybridge

Naturally there is more to the Riviera 75 Enclosed Flybridge than a clever brain and an excellent piloting system. Like all vessels from the marque this boat is beautifully finished and laid out with the ultimate offshore cruising lifestyle in mind. Although we have reviewed a very similar model before when covering its predecessor the 70, it is worth a quick stroll through a few features of particular note.

Those yet to experience the jaw-dropping opulence of a full-beam master cabin, the 75 presents one of the finest examples on offer. As a feature this cabin-style has become a must-have on a recreational cruising vessel. Who would have thought a boat built to be handled by two could feature a bedroom with the king-size bed, dual walk-in wardrobes, a couch, a makeup cabinet and an en suite large enough to host company...

Behind the helm station the rest of the flybridge space is occupied by a lounge dinette portside and a wet bar to starboard. A door opens onto a narrow upper mezzanine deck where the skipper can see down into the cockpit when fishing or docking, using a supplementary set of controls in an aft helm station positioned there for those purposes. The view forward is somewhat compromised by the bridge in front of you, but the view down over the cockpit and to the aft extremities of the boat whilst docking are very good.

On the move, inside the flybridge it’s difficult to get a sense of movement because it’s so quiet and “separated” from the outside environment in there. I did step outside onto the flybridge mezzanine at one point for some reason only to grab frantically for my hat. We were running at over 30 knots at the time and if there was little sense of how fast we were going inside, outside the slipstream wasn’t at all sympathetic...

Electric bow and sternthrusters shunt the 41,920kg silver 70 sideways like a crab, pushing back the morning westerly that was pinning us to the outer marina arm. Unshackled, unbridled, unconquerable, we range down Pittwater before heading out to the deep blue sea.

At theoretical hull speed of 10.7kts, averaging about 64lt/h in total, we have a cruising range of more than 1500nm. But it's not until you advance the throttles on the V12s that your world is transformed. Before you can say make mine white and one sugar, we are cruising at 30kts at 2100rpm, which is maximum continuous revs, and topping out at more than 33kts on the way home before the lopping swells...