Riviera 3850

Mariner Cruisers, established in 1966 but long relegated to the boatbuilding wilderness, has resurfaced. Yet far from being the parochial craft they once were, the new wave of cruisers are more worldly. Mariner has now set its sights on tackling overseas markets and warding off big-ticket imports on local shores.

Made by the Riviera factory on the Gold Coast, the new range of Mariners has already been endorsed via a ground-breaking deal with Wellcraft. The US boating giant will rebadge the Aussie boats in an interesting move designed to give Rivieras some well-priced competition in America.

This double-export whammy for two brands of Aussie boats, both hailing from the one factory, reeks of clever marketing. And from who else but the Barry-Cotter clan? Kendal Barry-Cotter is steering Mariner and, together with brother Bill who makes Riviera cruisers, they plan to give the American and European boat builders a shake-up.

"We've declared war on the imports with a strategy to keep them at sea... The new millennium fleet of Mariner cruisers, priced from $500,000 to more than $1m has the potential to beat the Americans at their own game," Kendal told Trade-A-Boat.

"Our new Mariner Renaissance range is different to Riviera's... We've already gone one up on them by scoring a landmark - or should I say watermark - deal with American giant, Wellcraft. This is an enormous breakthrough so early in our comeback plans."

The difference between Mariners and Rivieras is obvious, even to an untrained eye. Though the first new model, the 3850, has the same hull as the Riviera 4000 Offshore, it's a different looking boat with a vastly different interior.

FIRST CAB OFF THE RANK
Though it's pitched at well-heeled gamefishermen and bluewater adventurers, the new 3850 Mariner is first and foremost a family boat. It has a single helm station which, to me at least, makes sense in a 38-footer because it creates more space inside.

Offset on the starboard side, the saloon door is nice and wide. Up two steps from the cockpit, the saloon is fitted out with strawberry-blonde lime-washed wood and there is lots of cream-coloured vinyl upholstery and foam-back vinyl headliner.

With royal blue carpet and first-rate joinery, the Mariner 3850 has an air of classiness about it. Though the joinery appears more angular than on Rivieras, this boat goes one better than many 40-footers by squeezing in a separate 'dining room' opposite the galley to starboard.

Also on the starboard side is the control panel, located conveniently near the doorway. The light switches are the substantial household type, while a cocktail cabinet holds the mandatory Clarion 6-stacker CD (with four speakers) and three drawers on rollers - one for the glasses, the other for the bottles of Johnny Walker.

The windows in the saloon are sliding types and tinted, covered by drop-down Roman blinds and curtains. This way, you get a reprieve from the sun, plus privacy and fresh air - important considering this boat's lounging factor.

SALOON COMFORTS
On the portside is a wonderfully deep, L-shaped lounge. Gamefishermen might not like the fact that you can't see back through the opening rear window at the lures without sitting bolt upright, but other more laid-back types will welcome the depth of the backrests.

There's room to catnap on the lounge, either across or down the boat, and a small but useful coffee table provides somewhere to plonk your plonk. Above the lounges are neat valances for the Roman blinds and lime-washed beechwood skirting, while scatter cushions adorn the lounges.

Look around and, even if you don't see them, you'll feel the benefits of the three airconditioning ducts which cool the saloon. There's a central grabrail on the ceiling to help you move about in a pitching sea, seven 12V downlights and two outlets for shore power.

All this is nicely integrated without creating a saloon that's ostentatious. But the biggest achievement is the creation of the separate dinette, which can seat three on the lounge around it.

From the dinette, a clear view extends to the wake and, as with all the lounges, there is plenty of storage nearby. Forward of here, where the lower helm station might be, is an entertainment centre to suit TV and video, which you must supply to the dealer for installation.

Importantly, the television can be viewed from all quarters of the saloon. Gamefishers will find this handy for watching a fishing video to ready themselves for the tournament, while family or couples might escape with the Wiggles or a western.

A GOURMET'S GALLEY
Go down three steps, follow a handrail to the mezzanine level and you'll find an L-shaped galley on the portside. Benchtops are finished in a brazen navy-blue moulded graincoat, and the stainless steel sink is deep and wide enough to hold a stack of dirty plates.

The overhead crockery rack in lime-washed beechwood gives you instant access to coffee mugs and plates for a breakfast snack. The sliding doors for the cupboards are a new, better version than the previous interlocking doors, and the waste-bin receptacle, water-tank gauge, and abundance of drawers (minus an insert for cutlery) are welcome touches.

While the full-length pantry appealed to this would-be chef, the servery back to the saloon will be lowered on future Mariner 3850s. This will allow better communication from galley to saloon.

Underfloor, the galley offers a big storage hold for provisions, and windows open for ventilation. The control panel for the airconditioning is fixed here, while a quartet of appliances includes a two-burner electric stove, exhaust fan, convection microwave and an AC/DC fridge and freezer.

Just add kettle and toaster and you're ready to turn out three meals a day.

CABIN FEVER
A further three steps down from the galley are two cabins and a generous single head. Rather than making a mess of things by cramming everything in, Mariner has ensured each of the cabins has plenty of head and shoulder room.

Hang a right hand turn and you're in the guests' or kiddies' cabin. It has bunks, but the bottom one was easily big enough to accommodate a six-footer - only the upper berth was a bit short.

The cabin comes with a hanging locker and three drawers, porthole, padded vinyl-clad walls, reading lights and a deck hatch. A loose table, scatter cushions, matching towels and linen, and pleated bedspreads impart some elegance.

Naturally, the owner gets a better version of pamperdom. The master cabin in the bow features an island double that lifts on hydraulic struts to reveal a huge carpet-lined storage hold. The bed is covered in a Dynasty-gold spread, and there are his and her hanging lockers which practically resembled walk-in wardrobes.

The nice soft-touch walls are there to brush up against, and twin portholes and a hatch attract both light and fresh air. I noted that some adjustment was needed to better align the swinging cabin door.

One big, easy-clean moulding, the Ajax-white bathroom or head is located between cabins on the port side. This one had royal blue accents on the vanity top and sink, which looked smart with stainless taps and matching blue-and-white Sheridan towel combos swinging from chrome hoops.

The shower stall has a door which opens both ways, so you don't need to struggle to get in. There was room to sit on the Vacuflush toilet and read War and Peace in peace, and the sink and mirror ensure you emerge looking your morning best.

A COCKPIT SOMEWHERE
The Mariner 3850 was designed with at least some fishing in mind. In the cockpit, on the portside near the ladder to the bridge, is a top-loading fridge/freezer (bait or beer), and in the transom a livebait tank more like an aquarium with viewing window, pumps and light.

Storage comes in the form of lockers in the coamings, oval underfloor kill tanks and a lazarette. Some thought needs to be given to gaff and tagpole storage. But access to the bow is well thought out, with a step in the cockpit, plenty of handrails, a suitably high bowrail and nice wide decks around the flybridge superstructure.

Deck hardware includes pop-up cleats, stainless steel hawse pipes and two rodholders. Add to this a seawater wash-down, shore-power inlet, hot and cold hand-held shower, sink with hot and cold water, tackle locker and marlin door, and even at production level, it's a great boat to take you fishing. While the boarding platform might hinder fishing, there's a tournament-friendly option available which includes a stainless roller and no platform.

Engine access through a two-stage door against the aft bulkhead was good, and there appeared plenty of space to get around the Cummins Diamond Series, with additional room for the standard issue 6.5kVa Onan genset. I also liked the freshwater tap and the convenience of the oil and water filters.

DESIGNS ON THE BRIDGE
To my eye, the flybridge was the biggest departure from the Riviera mould. The cutaways either side and the peaked brow are almost Precision-like. Even the bridge access, via a powder-coated alloy ladder and through a hatch in a large overhang which shades the saloon below, is different.

But once your eye grows accustomed to the look, it all seems to work just fine. The aft helm position affords good visibility of the transom, and there's a co-pilot chair plus twin benchseats for guests.

The dash is nicely curved back towards the skipper, allowing flush-mounting of electronics such as the testboat's $12,000 Raytheon pack with sounder, GPS and autopilot.

Apparently, future Mariner 3850s will have a lower bridge, which can only improve the boat's good looks.

OUT AND ABOUT
Fitted with twin Cummins B370s prop- rated at 350hp, the hull displayed the kind of honest performance its Mariner predecessors have - only more efficiently. Using the Riviera 4000 hull, which I've spent a lot of time on, this version worked impressively, even though it was carrying a flybridge.

At 1000rpm the hull feels slippery doing 8.6kt - about lure trolling speed - whereas at 2000rpm the turbos have kicked in and you're doing a handy heavy-weather speed of 16.3kt.

Efficient long-range cruising comes in at 23.4kt and 2500rpm, while top speed was 28.4kt at 2950rpm.

Though there are Caterpillar 350hp and Volvo 370 and 430hp engine options (exported Mariners will have Volvos as standard), the base model with Cummins sounded pleasantly smooth. With the motors purring away below, I reclined in the skipper's chair and headed for a not-so-wild Broken Bay, feet on the dash and not even a mobile phone to worry about.

With the standard 3850 offered as a pretty-much turnkey boat, it's refreshing and confidence-inspiring to see the Mariner marque on the comeback trail. As they said in Poltergeist, they're b-a-a-a-a-c-k... And in this case the sequel is an impressive bit of work.