Riviera 43

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If you mix an express cruiser, a flybridge sedan, and a convertible, what do you get— besides a headache? Hopefully if you follow the recipe to the standards of Riviera Yachts, you’ll end up with the Riviera 43 Open Flybridge —the company’s latest model, debuting at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.

“We’ve gotten away from solely focusing on fish boats,” commented Stephen Milne, Riviera’s director of brand marketing. “Yes you can fish the 43, no problem, but it’s really meant for cruising. It’s a cruising boat that is designed to cruise all the time and fish some of the time, not the other way around.”

When Milne and Riviera’s head designer Neil McCabe first walked me through preliminary drawings last January, I couldn’t fully wrap my jet-lagged brain around the concept. “Boating has needed a change,” said Milne while explaining the company’s approach to this model. Yet change for the sake of change can often backfire once the design actually hits the water.

That’s certainly not the case here. McCabe and his team have kept the basic profile of a typical convertible design, but that’s where the similarities end. The connectivity gained between the salon and cockpit with inclusion of a sliding door and fold-out bulkhead window is one of the most noticeable design elements of the 43. Yes, this is being executed on a fair number of new express designs, including models such as the Riviera 5000 and 5800 Sport Yachts, but incorporating the treatment into a production convertible design is refreshingly original. Milne, himself an enthusiastic boater, eagerly revealed all of the cockpit’s cruising attributes: a transom barbecue grill, mezzanine seating, a cockpit fridge under the flying bridge ladder, and salt- and freshwater washdowns. But what if you’re one of those chaps who would occasionally like to fish? Not a problem, thanks to six rod holders, two fishboxes, tackle drawers, and a cockpit coaming that is designed to be forgiving on the thighs while reaching over to tag a fish. (Milne also mentioned a retail sale to a gentleman in Tasmania who planned to go all out with a full tower and outriggers.)