Riviera 3000

Smell that? That's change in the air. Not a southerly change, rather a change in the way Australian boatbuilders are designing their sportsfishing boats. Once the domain of the flybridge convertible, the Aussie gameboat is undergoing a metamorphosis.

There is a new kid on the block dubbed the Express and it's causing quite a commotion. Express, bridgedeck, dayboat, call them what you will, these savvy, social boats are turning heads around Australia and indeed, around the globe.

While several Aussie boat manufacturers have had a dab at building express-style boats in the past, they were usually one-offs and no one seriously put them into production.

In the USA it's a different matter. Particularly down Florida way where express-style boats are like swimming pools - everyone's got one.

I guess many Americans reading this story would be thinking - what took you so long? Well, we are a bit conservative over here and it does take us a while to catch on. Indeed, it is the US market that has caused Australia's production and custom boatbuilders to consider adding express-style boats into their respective ranges. And with the favourable exchange rate, Australian-built expresses look more appealing than ever.

So who has jumped on the express bandwagon? Black Watch currently has a new 30ft express under construction, Caribbean recently released its 32 Open, custom builder Oceancraft has just launched a 34ft express with tower and, of course, there's the feature of this review - the Riviera 3000 Offshore - and its big brother 4000.

TOWER OF STRENGTH
The testboat featured here is Riviera's first 3000 with a tower. Previously it was only its bigger sibling that received a dose of gleaming anodised aluminium that reached for the heavens.

The tower-adorned 3000 Offshore has actually been on the drawing board for a while, so it was nice to finally see it come to fruition. The tower could have been stainless, but if you don't mind paying a little extra, anodised aluminium sure does look the goods.

BlueWater's old mate Paul Selby from Black Marlin Towers designed and built the tower on the testboat and I must say it looks absolutely superb.

The best way to test a gameboat is to go gamefishing so we suggested to the owner of this 3000 that a few hours trolling the billfish grounds off Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast might be in order. He didn't have to be asked twice and a 6.00am departure was arranged.

As we poked our bow outside the breakwall it was one of those mornings when you think, we really should have stayed in bed. It was overcast and there was a sloppy sea and swell confronting us. Not the best day for taking photos, but a good day to form a reasonable opinion of the boat.

With a solid headsea we chose a relatively sedate 16kt cruise which proved to be surprisingly comfortable with the bow tucked in thanks to the trim tabs. Of course, with the nose pinned down to soften the ride we did cop a bit of spray over the clears, but hey, I guess that's what clears are for.

The cockpit on the 3000 Offshore is small, too small in my opinion, to swing the 80lb-class Reelax gamechair that graced the teak deck. As we pulled back to trolling revs and began to set the gear, the three anglers jostled for position around the chair. And that was without the footrest in place. In reality, the 3000 cockpit is a stand-up tackle only area. Save yourself some money and leave the big bent-butts at home.

The testboat was also fitted with fairly hefty swim platform. While we can all appreciate this feature when stepping aboard at the dock, serious anglers will delete it from the build list.

Other cockpit features include a good-sized livewell molded into the transom, an inward opening transom door (another reason not to have a chair), tackle storage, removable padded coaming bolsters, saltwater deckwash, exposed mooring cleats, pop-up fender cleats and four flush-mounted Reelax rodholders.

On the testboat the forward rodholders needed the pin angle changed or the whole rodholder re-positioned so the rod loads up correctly when hook-up occurs. This is a common fault we see on many boats and easy to fix.

With a relatively short cockpit, tagpole storage is another issue, so the owner of the testboat has installed stainless steel sleeves along the tower supports that house the tagpoles. A clever solution.

BRIDGING THE GAP
The bridgedeck, or helm platform is just one step up from the cockpit making this an ideal boat for short-handed crews. It's a perfect three to four-person boat and with perhaps a set of cockpit controls you could fish this boat two-up without a problem.

The whole bridgedeck actually raises on hydraulic rams to provide access to the engineroom. This is a neat idea and does give good access to all essentials.

At the aft end of the bridgedeck on the starboard side is a wetbar which incorporates a small sink, freshwater washdown, 12-volt refrigerator and storage compartment.

As there is also a fridge in the galley, it might be a smart move to replace the wetbar fridge with an icemaker. The wetbar could also double as an impromptu bait prep area although the testboat was fitted with a custom baitboard fitted to the gamechair.

Opposite the wetbar is an L-shaped lounge with molded dinette. This is a great place to sit both when trolling and travelling. Being able to comfortably sit and face forward while steaming gets a tick from me. When the lures go out, just sit a bit further around so you can see what's going on out the back.

The helm is located on the starboard side. There is enough room to either sit or stand at the helm and you can turn and face the transom for docking or fighting a fish with your left hand falling nicely on the electronic controls.

The Volvo EDC controls were very responsive, but because I'm used to single sticks on either side of the wheel, I found the side-by-side levers a little hard to get used to.

The helm seat is a bench-type which could accommodate the helmsman and a friendly passenger. Being fixed in position, the helmseat doesn't really lend itself to spinning around and checking out the pattern. I found myself with my left leg up on the seat so I could keep one eye on the lures and the other on the sounder.

Not that it was very easy though, because the sounder was flush mounted in the dash and the angle of the dash meant the sounder could be seen much better while standing.

Dash fittings included an adjustable steering wheel, full compliment of Volvo engine instrumentation, Icom VHF radio, Raymarine L760 colour sounder/chartplotter combination unit and Raymarine ST6001+ autopilot.

Access to the cabin is down three steps from the bridgedeck via a large sliding door. No chance of banging your head on this one. Like most Rivieras, the 3000 Offshore is beamy and fairly full in the bow which translates to generous internal volume.

You have to hand it to Riv, it certainly finishes off its interiors very nicely and seems to make maximum use of every available space.

A large island berth graces the foremost section of the cabin and features storage shelves either side and a compact but convenient hanging locker aft and to port. Natural light and ventilation is provided by a large hatch above the bed.

Also on the port side is an L-shaped lounge with dinette that can convert to two single bunks. Although the dinette provides additional bench space while preparing meals, I daresay most dining would occur alfresco on the bridgedeck dinette.

Opposite the dinette on the starboard side is a compact but functional galley. Features include Granicoat benchtop and sink, microwave oven, 12-volt refrigerator, ample cupboard space and appropriate overhead lighting.

A fully enclosed head is located aft of the galley and is surprisingly spacious. It incorporates a separate shower stall with screen and handheld shower unit, Vacuflush loo with holding tank, Granicoat wash basin with mirrored vanity overhead and good storage space below.

TALL ORDER
After the creature comforts it was time to head back upstairs and check out the tower. The bridgedeck hardtop is actually the floor of the tower so it's not what you would call a super high perch. That's how I like them though - much taller and on this size boat the centre of gravity starts to get too high.

That said, it's amazing how much better the view is by going up even a couple of feet. I likened the height of the tower to that of a flybridge on a similar sized boat.

Climbing the tower was a relatively easy affair, just a few treads to deal with, all of which featured a non-slip upper surface. The hardtop had been scalloped slightly which also made access easier.

The tower area itself was quite large - perhaps too large as there was nowhere to really tuck yourself in.

In the sloppy conditions I was constantly looking for a solid handhold. A fold out seat was centrally located and provided welcome relief, however, there is no way you could drive from this seat. It is way too low. The steering wheel is at eye level and you sure as hell can't see the sounder.

Obviously the tower was set up to accommodate the standing helmsman but a bit more padding on the forward railings would be nice while trolling as, lets face it, you spend more time looking aft than looking forward.

We did raise one billfish during our boat test and the value of the tower was realised. I spotted the little black marlin long before he took his first swipe at the lure and well before my friends on the bridgedeck new they were about to get a shot.

After several half-hearted attempts at hooking up the little black peeled away and obviously decided to go and eat something a little more lifelike. So I guess we proved the boat raises fish, but we also proved that you still have to catch them.

HOMEWARD BOUND
I took the wheel for the run home and an abating sea allowed me to put the pedal to the metal. I did want to drive from the tower but the electronic station switch wasn't working. We could only get one motor to go into gear from the tower controls so it was back down to the bridgedeck for the run home.

The 3000 Offshore certainly liked a following sea much more than a headsea. It cruised beautifully at 3200rpm which registered 24kt on the GPS. At wide open throttle I registered a top speed of spot on 30kt while revving out at 3800rpm.

Low speed manoeuvrability was good and there shouldn't be too much drama staying hot on the heels of an agile billfish. The swim platform did try to bury the stern a bit in reverse though, and the amount of water coming through the transom door while backing up hard was not ideal.

It may sound a bit like I've picked the eyes out of this boat but in actual fact, all the faults I found were indeed minor ones.

For Riviera's first real crack at a serious express sportsfisherman it's a damn good job. The basis is certainly there for an absolute cracker of a dayboat that should appeal especially to those who are fortunate to live where the seas are a little less boisterous than they are here.

We plan to get on all the new expresses from other Aussie manufacturers in upcoming months, so stay tuned for those reviews. Is this change here to stay? Only time will tell.