2019 Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition review

When it launched in 2014 as a replacement for the strong-selling 5800, the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht was already attuned to its target buyers’ needs. The recently launched Platinum Edition version, launched at the 2019 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, takes that a step further.

The Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht is a big boat by anyone’s standards, with a huge amount of volume.

The Sport Yacht line is one of Riviera’s most successful, having found more than 500 owners over its more than 16 years of production. Those owners have been pretty happy with the boats, but Riviera’s continual improvement ensures they are tuned to exactly what “Riv” customers want.

The latest Platinum Edition versions are just that; incremental improvements to an already successful formula.

The Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht features a hand-laid fibreglass hull and deck. The hull bottom laminate is solid fibreglass to the chine and then tapers to closed-cell foam reinforced topsides. The deck features an end-grain balsa core for extra strength and weight saving.

The lightweight but strong design also helps to keep the boat’s centre of gravity as low as possible.

There is a watertight collision bulkhead forward and separate compartments throughout the hull.

Underneath, the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht features a short keel that helps with stability at speed and at rest. It also builds strength into the hull.

The Platinum Edition updates make no changes to the twin 725hp Volvo Penta IPS 950 diesel pod drive systems that can power the sport yacht at 30 knot-plus speeds.

The Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition is priced from $2,499,800. There’s no “base” Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht, with the Platinum Edition the only version available. Riviera says the Platinum Edition enhancements to the 6000 represent a “modest” price rise over the version of the motor yacht it replaces.

The biggest visual enhancement brought in with the Platinum Edition change is a superyacht-style contrasting roof extending over the saloon, matching the painted hull’s colour (our test boat in Atomic Silver) and giving the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht a more consistent, less top-heavy look.

It’s inside where the big changes happen. Materials used for almost all the soft finishes inside, including the lintels, cushions and bed covers, switch to Sunbrella fabric more at home in sun-soaked environments. Around the helm and the entrance to the companionway, soft-to-the-touch Alcantara features prominently.

The main deck’s hardtop now extends slightly further rearward, and includes an electrically operated sunroof. Teak used outdoors is also finished in grey caulking, providing a softer, more aesthetically pleasing finish than the black caulking it replaces.

Inside, there’s more saloon seating than before, including an optional ottoman and an extending table – but more about that a bit later.

The Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht’s accommodation options retain the presidential layout that converts the amidships master stateroom into a full-beam suite.

Electrical loads are covered by an impressively powerful 22.5kW Onan generator that, like the engines, sends its exhaust into the water to cut down on noise.

Our test boat is also fitted with a Seakeeper gyroscope that helps with providing a stable ride while underway, and at rest. There’s an indicator on the dash showing when it is working, spinning at almost 9000rpm to counteract any pitch and yaw forces acting on the boat. Switch it off, and there’s an instant and noticeable difference in the boat’s calmness.

It’s an expensive option in the 6000, costing around $100,000, but the entire three-model Riviera Sport Yacht Platinum Edition range is now built to accommodate it.

Step in through the sliding glass bulkhead from the cockpit, and current Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht owners will be hard-pressed to recognise that this is the same boat, such are the changes introduced via the Platinum Edition badge.

The most noticeable change is to starboard, where a former two-seater lounge separated by a low table becomes an optional three-seater – but with a twist. The centre seat pulls out to become an ottoman, while the aft seat squab flips up to reveal a folding table that folds out and installs to fill the space vacated by the ottoman.

The floors are lined in oak-look vinyl, which offsets nicely against the darker walnut finish of the cabinets.

The portside galley with its flip-up window opening to the cockpit features marble-look benchtops in a dark finish – a big contrast to the light finishes in the boat this one replaces The U-shaped galley space includes a dishwasher, three-hob convection cooktop, a convection microwave oven, an under-bench fridge, and sink with mixer tap.

Backing onto the forward bench of the galley is the dinette. It’s the same size as before, but in our test boat it features a stunning walnut inlay that shows off Riviera’s extensive timber working craftmanship.

The walls and lintels throughout the saloon are finished in either nicely textured (if it falls to hand) or flat (on out-of-reach surfaces) Sunbrella material. Seats use different cushioning, too, to become more supportive.

Smart-looking powerpoints all throughout the saloon feature USB recharging ports.

The helm station in the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht is offset to starboard, and marks a huge shift for the brand. Gone are the solid-looking, wide, geometric helm chairs of old, replaced by surprisingly car-like, contrast-stitched Recaro captain’s seats with electric controls.

Comfy, supportive and infinitely adjustable, the seats are much better suited to eating up the miles while making passage than the ones they replace. There’s a flip-up bolster on the front of the seat, although to help with standing at the helm the seat has to be tracked back to make room.

The change is equally noticeable in front of the new helm seats. The cowling over the instrument station is more compact with a cut-in for the compass binnacle and lined in Alcantara rather than leather.

The redesigned console leaves more flat space to mount touchscreens, which in our case is twin 17-inch Raymarine Glass Cockpit systems with built-in autopilot.

Switchgear carries over from the original Riviera 6000 Sports Yacht, as does the CZone electronics control system that balances the boat’s ever-changing electrical needs at the press of a virtual button.

The first thing you notice as you descend the centrally located companionway to access the downstairs living space is the carpet. All the accommodation areas on our test boat are floored in rich, but optional deep-pile wool carpets that feel luxurious underfoot.

The companionway bends around to a lounge space including a three-seater couch that converts into a single bed, plenty of drawers and a large wall-mounted television. This space makes for the perfect children’s escape pod; equip it with a games console and the younger ones can hibernate for as long as they need to. This area also has space for optional washers and dryers.

It has filtered overhead light illuminating the space, and LED lights to make it comfortable at night or on a heavily overcast day like our test day.

Behind the wall is a narrow but comfortable room with two bunks. On the other side is a stateroom with two side-by-side single beds.

Aft of this lounge is the master stateroom, complete with its own bathroom. The master suite is offset to starboard to make room for a private ensuite that includes a full-width window that allows light into the entire space, but turns opaque at the press of a button.

The master suite includes a central king-size bed with rounded corners and a cross-grained timber feature, a chaise, a TV mounted on a recess in the bulkhead, and a make-up station. A doorway leading aft opens into a utility room with engine room access.

An option for this space is to replace the double bunks forward of the stateroom with the bathroom, and convert the master suite into a presidential suite using the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition’s full beam.

The bow hosts the VIP, or guest stateroom that includes an access door to a shared day head.

The utility room behind the master stateroom can be made into crew quarters, with access also via a separate cockpit deck hatch and ladder. Riviera even has converted this space into a gym and a wine cellar for owners who have requested it.

Step from the dock onto the large lowering swim deck rated to 350kg, and the transom opens to reveal a garage large enough for a 3.2-metre tender.

Move up into the cockpit, and the first thing you’ll notice is the sense of space it offers. Grey caulking replacing the standard black infill in the teak deck lining makes the space look naturally lighter.

Lining the transom are amenities including an electric barbecue with griller and LED lights now built into its lid, a sink and a wet bar with fridge.

Lounge space includes a generous dinette to port with a drop-down table to convert it to a day bed, and an L-shaped lounge built around the starboard side. The fixed canopy overhead includes a sunroof, and clears to either side offer good wind protection when underway or weather protection while moored.

The bow is accessed via a spacious walkaround deck, with a dedicated two-couple foredeck sun pad with flip-up backrests, drink and bottle holders, and separate multimedia dock controls for the two-speaker audio system.

The twin 735hp IPS 950 D11 Volvo engines carry over unchanged, and that’s no bad thing when you consider how well suited to the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht they were before the Platinum Edition changes were rolled out.

The big Volvo Pentas are extremely responsive to the twin throttle controls mounted to the side of the helm, responding with a deep thrum as revs build.

They spin over a very narrow rev band, cruising comfortably at 25 knots on test at 2420rpm, and sipping a surprisingly economical 122 litres of diesel fuel an hour. Factor in the two smaller Sport Yachts we tested on the day, and that’s the best fuel figure by far. It's also an effective 480nm cruising range with a 10 per cent reserve built in – this is a boat that will easily run from Sydney to the Whitsundays without needing a fuel stop along the way.

With the gyro nudging 9000rpm, progress over a slightly choppy Gold Coast Seaway is fast and settled. You can feel the gyro working, as some of the boat’s reactions under you have a bit of a jagged edge as the gyro’s forces counteract the ones being made on the hull. It’s not unpleasant, just noticeable.

The whole boat is quiet, even at speed. How quiet? We’re cruising along doing 25 knots with the saloon’s sunroof wide open, and it’s possible to have a conversation from the helm with someone seated at the dinette without having to raise your voice.

Tip the 17.06-metre waterline into a corner, and the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition leans calmly into the turn, remaining very flat throughout it. Part of this will be down to the keel, but we suspect it’s the gyro also coming into force, so to speak.

Surprisingly, the big boat needs very little input from the sports-style helm wheel to pitch it into a corner. In fact, it’s quite easy to forget how the boat tends to shrink around you before you get used to it, and oversteer. That’s exactly what I did until I worked out what was going on.

The Riviera 9000 Sport Yacht is also fitted with joystick controls for the Volvo Penta engines and front and rear thrusters. I spent a few minutes playing with the cockpit-mounted one – another is at the helm in front of the throttle controls – as we sat in the channel at the entrance to the seaway.

Apart from a small amount of lag as the system sorted out how the pods would react to what I thought were quite irregular inputs, and the odd roar from the engines, the boat could pirouette on the spot in its own length, crab sideways while turning, back up while swinging the transom and keeping the bow fixed – all with complete ease and confidence.

When it launched, we praised the Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht for its classy Euro lines, stunning performance, great entertaining spaces and the amount of volume that the Gold Coast motor yacht maker has extracted from the hull.

Since then, nothing has been lost. Instead, it has gained much from Riviera’s continual process of improvement to make a motor yacht that was already a benchmark into an even higher one.

Specifications
Model: Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition
Length overall: 19.30m
Beam: 5.38m
Draft: 1.36m (max)
Weight: 25,750kg (est, dry)
Engines: Twin IPS950s using Volvo Penta D11 turbo-charged, fully electronic, six-cylinder common-rail diesel engines with IPS 2 pod drives
Fuel: 2650L, diesel
Water: 800L
Holding tank: 500L
Accommodation: 6+1 (up to 10 possible)

Priced from: $2,499,800 including Onan EQD 22.5kW generator with 5kW inverter; LED navigation lights; Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner; 24-inch (forward), 43-inch (master), 22-inch (starboard) stateroom TVs; shore power leads; anchor chain counter; 17-inch Glass Bridge with GPS and autopilot, Garmin sounder and radar; 36,000BTU reverse cycle airconditioning; saloon and below decks airconditioning; LED lighting; saloon icemaker/freezer; combination oven; electric induction cooktop; freezer drawer; garbage bin; hull windows with opening portholes;

Price as tested: $2,741,430 including saloon centre seat ottoman; watermaker; wine cooler; three stateroom layout; cockpit awning; wool carpets in staterooms; stateroom electric roller blinds; underwater and targa lighting; awning and anchor camera; Garmin maps; satellite TV; Seakeeper gyroscope.

Supplied by: Riviera Australia, Gold Coast