Sportriva 56: New concept

Written by Miquel Mallafré

On board

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Presented at the past Cannes Boat show, the SportRiva 56 is the most recent model of this prestigious Italian make, but it is also the first one of a new range that pretends to combine, under the denomination SportRiva, the functionality of the sedan models and the cruisers with fly bridge.

Riva has two well differentiated ranges. One of them groups the models from 30 to 68 feet, all of them open or coupe, whereas another one brings together the yachts from 75 to 115 feet, all of them with fly bridge. Common aspects to the whole of the make are the well cared for design, the maximum equipment and the luxurious treatment of the finishes and the materials. Without giving up these basic principles of exclusivity, this model is born with the idea of combining the concept of the boats with fly bridge, equipped with two steering positions, with a purity of lines that is typical of the sedan models. The 56 wants, in addition, to inaugurate a new range that will combine these aspects, creating the new sportfly concept under the SportRiva appellation. Therewith it is pretended to have a saloon as roomy as the one a model equipped with fly bridge, with two steering positions, but with a maximum degree of transparency in the saloon, in the same way as it happens in most of the sedan models. The result is a boat with very dynamic lines, with the usual design style that Mauro Micheli and his Officina Italiana Design has granted to the whole actual Riva range. Indeed, the ability at the time of choosing the design elements has obtained an absolutely innovating result, that combines the futuristic lines with the full flavour of Riva long tradition, a result that, with no doubt, is ready to remain up-to-date for a long time.

Function, shape and colour

The first challenge that the design team had to solve is the one of giving views and luminosity to the saloon, considering the obligation to incorporate a staircase to access to the fly bridge. The chosen solution has been to separate the stairs from the superstructure, bringing it back to centre of the cockpit, being part of an aft saloon that is totally furnished. This saloon has two sofas facing a central table with folding wings. The stern sofa is by the transom, whereas the staircase begins at the front sofa and also acts as a separator from the well equipped service cabinet located immediately behind the back of this sofa; to avoid treading on it, the central section can be removed easily. In this way the staircase does not limit the perspective from the interior towards the stern, but they have also taken the precaution to choose a metallic staircase, very steep, that does not interrupt the views. As the cockpit already has a furnished living area and its own ser vice furniture, the fly bridge is limited to two solariums separated on the sides and equipped with headrests. The steering position is located at the front, in a central position, with a three places seat and a totally equipped console. In order to limit the height of the boat the importance of the antennae arch has also been reduced, having been replaced by a smaller arch, through which the staircase reaches the fly bridge, that has become an unsurpassable solution. In addition, the antennae are not on this arch, but on the sides, so that the whole causes that the height of this ensemble is hardly higher than the one of the windscreen. It is also necessary to pay attention to the treatment of the windscreen. Curved, tinted and imperceptibly separated in two sections, it provides impressive views to the saloon, but the most interesting is the contribution that it makes to the outer design, because its shape recalls very much the front part of the open or sedan boats of the make and, in addition, the part of the ceiling that is not glassed is painted in the same colour, emphasising the dynamic sensation of the whole.
The colour of the yacht has a special importance on the yachts produced by Riva nowadays. The Italian make has already got us used to the metallic tones on most of its models.

In this case a colour that has been exclusively developed for this model has been chosen, baptised with the suggestive denomination of Roman bronze, that has been used not only on the hull and a good part of the deck, but also in parts of the furniture and, specially, in the galley, that is entirely lacquered in this colour. The attention to the details sets the differences. And at Riva they know it. At the quarters the manoeuvre is located on consoles and hidden under individual lids, all perfectly painted. Between the stern sofa and the quarters individual passageways have been left to descend to the bathing platform, these ways are protected by upper coamings that come in against the central part of the transom, but never to the point of hiding the Riva logo, using the same solution applied on other models of the make, such as the Rivale, to mention just an example. The lateral walkways are ample, thanks to that the superstructure that has a slight inclination towards the inside, and the stanchions are inclined towards the bow, increasing the sensation of dynamism of the boat. The fore deck is destined for sun bathing, with the particularity that a folding awning, that hides between the windscreen and the solarium itself, can protect the head of the occupants from the sun rays, if desired.

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