Riviera’s new Sports Yacht has the feel of a larger cruiser, and goes like a rocket!
In yachtie speak, ‘blue water cruising’ isn’t really to do with the colour of the water, it means off-shore cruising, into deeper ocean, and being able to cruise between destinations. You would normally expect a bigger boat, one which can handle more challenging weather conditions to be a blue water cruiser; you wouldn’t want to tackle these sorts of trips in a less capable vessel!
But with the Riviera 4600 Sport Yacht you can.
There has been some sleight of hand going on here, and I’m not sure how they’ve managed to pull it off, but Riviera have packed most of the features of a larger 50 to 60 ft blue water cruiser into this smaller Yacht. The 4600 is a yacht that can handle blue water.
With a hull length of just over 13 meters (add another 2.5 meters for the bow roller and swim platform) the 4600 is not a particularly large yacht. Yet it is remarkably spacious. It achieves much of its excessive interior space by virtue of having a higher volume hull. This adds to design options below deck, particularly towards the front of the vessel. The bow double cabin is spacious, and it’s not even the master cabin!
You could say that the Riviera 4600 is the ‘Greatest Hits’ of the Riviera range, because they have been able incorporate the most popular, and innovative, features of their larger boats into this little beauty.
She is what you would call an ‘entry level’ boat, any idiot can drive her! If part of your ‘taking it easier’ lifestyle strategy is to get onto the water, the Riviera 4600 is a perfect boat to cut your teeth in. She is so easy to handle, in addition to the cockpit wheel, there are two joy stick controls, one at the helm and one conveniently positioned aft in the cockpit. Throttle: forwards and reverse, turning: go left for port or right for starboard, it’s that simple.
It also has this wonderful Dynamic Positioning System, which is not dissimilar to the emergency stop lever on a train. It basically halts the boat, and through satellite positioning keeps the craft in a set position, regardless of currents, wind and swell.
The Riviera 4600 is powered by twin diesel Volvo engines, which each generate 600 horsepower. The engines are located aft in the engine room, which they call ‘pod configuration’ rather than the traditional shaft to propeller. This gives extra maneuverability and efficiency and does away with the need for bow and stern thrusters.
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The last bit of techno-jargon information I want to give you, is that the 4600 has gyro stabilizers, again a feature usually found only in larger boats. These dynamic systems smooth out the impact swell and waves when the boat is stationery…very important when you are enjoying a Chardonnay.
Taking of Chardonnay, Riviera is an Australian manufacturer, based in Brisbane. And the two essential features you would expect an Australian to build into anything are a BBQ and plenty of refrigeration. This boat has both, with the latter in abundance; one whole side of the lounge sofa seating has a cooler underneath.
The main living space on this boat is all on one level. As you board you pass a hatch which opens for storage, and there is surfboard space storage here, up a few steps into the aft deck lounge, complete with, dining table, sofas, fridges and the barbie.
Slide the doors and you enter the enclosed (not totally true, as there is a sun roof, so the whole internal space can be opened up) part of the yacht. There is a galley, comfortable dining seating for 8, a pop-up 32-inch TV and the two seater captain’s driving area.
Below the main cockpit are steps down to the 3 cabins, comfortably sleeping 6. The afore mentioned double cabin and a bunk bed twin cabin, share an en-suite, and amidships is the large master cabin, with its own en-suite and large hull windows. Everything is electric, including the blinds on these windows. I am 6’ 3” tall and I could easily stand in the master.
There is no specific crew accommodation on this boat, simply because you don’t need any crew, but if you insist, they could bunk up in the twin cabin.
Both en-suite heads are sizable, particularly the showers; I don’t want to be rude about Aussies, but they hate telephone box sized showers!
On the bow deck, in front of the cockpit, are two relaxing sun pads.
The Riviera 4600 is absolutely suitable for Phuket waters. You can zip around, in and out of any of Phuket’s marina’s, and with small islands aplenty, up and down the coast, many with floating jetties, this boat can access everything, anywhere.
I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. What you are looking at is the Platinum version of the Riviera 4600 Sport Yacht, which provides superior trim and finishing.
This Riviera 3600 is for sale at 2.25 million Australian dollars. For viewings and more information please click the QR code.
By Christopher Lee
