Riviera 45 and Raymarine showcase

Here’s something you might like to contemplate. At the time of writing, a search of “Riviera” boats for sale on our sites returned more than 360 hits. Narrow it down to those second-hand models that are five-to-15 years old, in other words built from 2001 to 2011, and you get in excess of 165 listings. That’s a lot of potentially great Rivs with keen pricing in today’s market. Add Caribbean and Maritimo to the mix if you want more choice.

Due to the GFC, there’s now an abundance of these used 33-51ft flybridge cruisers on the market. Some may have been delivered before the crash in 2007, others just after the Armageddon, like the August 2009-model Riviera 45 Flybridge (#23) that features in this interesting feature story about upgrading your electronics to create a whole new boating experience.

Typically, most second-hand Rivieras (and other reputable cruiser brands) around this era, that have been used for pleasure boating, have low engine hours, big strong diesel donks, fibreglass hulls and decks that are structurally sound, and which still lustre with a little love. The interior might need new carpet or upholstery but not much else, while the time-proven engineering, Onan gensets and simple 12V electrical systems are all easy to get your head around.

But what is often greatly outdated on these five-to-15 year-old boats is the suite of electronics. The navigational gear, chartplotters and fish finders, autopilots and AV systems are old tech. Going back just five years, iPhones were in their infancy and we’d hardly even woken up to the wonders of Wi-Fi and social media.

It's against this backdrop that we find ourselves aboard a one-owner Riviera 45 Flybridge. The boat was sparkling inside and out and the twin Cummins QSC-8.3 600hp engines had just 480 hours on their clocks. The owner traded the 45 Flybridge on a new Riviera 4800 Sport Yacht. This is a trend in the market — down to single-level sport yachts — leading to an even greater legacy of flybridge cruisers like this for sale. And opportunity knocks...

HEADING TO THE WHITSUNDAYS
A brokerage boat at R Marine Riley on Pittwater, the Riv' 45 renamed Riley’s Riviera 1 was being put to good use as the lead boat for a fleet of a 12 Rivieras heading to the Whitsundays from Pittwater starting Sunday June 26, 2016 (subject to weather).

Due to that lead role, the electronics needed upgrading and, Captain Mark Riley adds, he needed to create a connected mobile office. What eventuated was a showcase of the latest Raymarine kit and some very neat refit ideas for older Rivs just like this. That is the crux of this story.

"I wanted the latest electronics from the trip to the Whitsundays, I wanted to have a mobile office with me, so I can get the weather through Wi-Fi [via Theyr Weather and the new Raymarine weather forecasting functionality and app], as we go and that’s relevant to the area and then I can look two to three days ahead," Captain Riley says as we start the Cummins engines.

All told, this was a $44k Raymarine electronics refit, but not long ago this kind of thing would have cost three times that amount and been the preserve of the superyacht fleet. As this refit included an $11,499 high-performance satellite TV system in the mix, you could drop that and save a bundle.

RAYMARINE CREW
Complexity is inherent in all electronics, but at the helm it isn’t something you have to be too concerned about with solid-state devices. Most big brand gear in the modern era pretty much drives itself and the software is designed for easy push-button and knob-twirling operation.

The installation of this Raymarine gear was performed by Ben Pinfold from Harbourtec Marine Electrics to an impressive standard, with matching carbon-fibre dash panels and very neat finishing. Ben said the aftermarket business for electronics upgrades and fit-ups is growing since the GFC, so it seems we are not alone in seeing merit in sharing this subject and story.

The Raymarine team riding aboard included Mark Leach, the National Sales and Marketing Manager; Tom Green, a fountain of tech knowledge and Technical Services Manager; Mark Riley, the Dealer Principal of R Marine Riley in Pittwater; and his helpful staff crew.

We idled around Pittwater and then headed offshore on an ideal winter's test day. Here’s what pressed our buttons from this impressive 2016 Raymarine test kit. Retail prices are included.

RAYMARINE ELECTRONICS SUITE
1. Raymarine’s new eS Series Multifunction Displays: The twin eS3127 multifunction displays, or MFDs as they are known, give a seamless glass-bridge look akin to Raymarine’s top-of-the-line gS Series MFDS but with cost savings. Running the Raymarine LightHouse II software, you get intuitive and easy menu-driven operation.

Having two 12in means you can run your radar and chartplotter separately at full screen for safe navigation. But a 12in is also what I’d consider the minimum for effective split-screen navigation. For example, when you split the screen between radar and thermal camera on our demonstrator, you still got enough at-a-glance data and screen detail to monitor each screen and key targets without straining your eyes.

While most boats today opt for 16in screens, and there is a trend to bigger MFDs to 24in, these 12in will easily slot into existing holes and dashes in boats aged five-to-15 years. Back in many Riviera’s launch days, a 12in was a b-i-g screen and it held pride of place on the dash.

Meanwhile, if you are into fish finding, the built-in CHIRP depth sounder gives incredible target discrimination underwater, so much so that professional tournament-winning skippers like Scott Thorrington from Haven Sport Fishing Charters say it’s transformed their fishing. Other skippers like legend Tim Dean are now running Raymarine.

The HybridTouch operation is also proven offshore when touchscreen alone can be troublesome, with pinch-to-zoom allowing for easy route planning and navigation. The inbuilt Wi-Fi allows you to stream to Apps and across to your smartphone and devices.

The eS Series seemed nice and bright in the winter glare, with a range of custom display to suit. The thermal camera screen looked great in orange in daylight but at night you’d pick a non-blinding combo.

The twin eS127 MFDs had a retail value of $9798 and formed the heart of this electronics refurb.

2. Quantum Wireless Chirp Radar: The new Quantum wireless CHIRP (Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse ) radar is just mind-blowing. As an operator of an old-style magnetron 24nm radar, you can’t help but amazed by the incredible target separation, resolution and discrimination close to your boat.

You can see individual boats on moorings, tinnies and kayaks, a small channel marker with great clarity, where previously these things would be a blob connected to land if seen at all. After touring busy Pittwater, we headed offshore for some radar range testing.

The way the CHIRP system works is that the low power demands of multi-frequency operation for close work leave plenty of ‘juice’ for firing or pulsing to long-range targets.

Somewhere east of Barrenjoey, the sentinel at the entrance to Broken Bay, we could see a headland 18nm miles down south past South Head around The Gap and Rosa Gully. That’s a pretty good range with the 24nm radar.

But for the most part you will be using your radar for spotting ships and other boat traffic using, say, ¼ mile range rings. We viewed the radar this way and with chart overlay and an offline Google map overlay that shows houses and marinas and so on.

Simple Wi-Fi connection and small diameter power cable makes for easy aftermarket installation of the Quantum radar, which retails with data cable for an affordable $2495.

3. EVO Autopilot P70R: Your old fluxgate-driven autopilot is a dinosaur compared with today’s digital solid-state compass and gyro systems. The nine-axis sensor in the Raymarine EVO autopilot offers real-time steering correction superior to human helming.

Although we have no means of measuring it, we're told the autopilot sensors are making corrections at a rate of 1/100th of a second in relation to the compass and course feedback. So unlike the old fluxgate playing catch-up with a wiggly wake out the back, you’re driving in a straight line. Or, rather, the autopilot is...

Of course, being solid state, there’s less to worry about in relation to installation, no big calibration requirement, and the sensor can be installed above or below deck. It’s pretty much plug-and-play. Retail for the P70R system pack was $4249.

4. Fixed Thermal Camera: Once the preserve of the superyacht fleet — I remember testing a $24k night-vision system only yesterday — today you can get a handheld FLIR Ocean Scout TK marine thermal monocular for $900 (see it at the 2016 Sydney boat show).

For $6995 retail, this Riviera 45 had a fixed forward-facing Raymarine T273 thermal camera from the T200 Series with a small-boat-spotting range of about 1nm and a MOB range of about 0.4nm. With various colour modes for day and night viewing, the thermal camera is an eye opener.

As the Pittwater ferry chortled past we could pick out individual passenger outlines on the aft deck. But at night, in an anchorage, looking for moorings, the shore, snags and more, thermal cameras are a godsend.

Such is the clarity, you could drive off the thermal camera screen and chart plotter, with the radar for reassurance, with absolute confidence in foreign waterways in the middle of the night. The T273 Fixed Thermal Camera had a $6995 retail price. I'd want one if heading north.

5. Engine Room CAM200 IP Camera: Coastal cruising buffs should have a camera in the engine room showing the shafts, supposedly dripless seals, bilge area and working parts of the engine. This way, mid-passage, you can monitor your engine room from the helm. Of course, audio and visual bilge pump alarms are a given, but a camera can spot problems before they become major.

Our Riviera 45 had the Raymarine CAM200 IP (internet protocol) digital camera installed in its engine room. Captain Riley said he’s already picked-up a leak under load from a dodgy weld in an exhaust elbow on one of the Cummins engines. That’s been fixed, after the camera spotted it. A useful bit of kit for $999 plug-and-play, plus a $150 cable run.

6. Long-range 60STV Satellite TV System: Here’s the big ticket item, an $11,499 60STV flagship high-performance satellite TV system from Raymarine, using a 60cm dome designed for long-range use and said to be the ultimate for coastal cruising to FNQ and the Whitsundays.

We didn’t test the Foxtel, but are told the reception will be excellent all the way north. The TV is available through the MFDs on screen, too, so you can always sneak away at anchor to sit in the helm chair and watch a movie. Foxtel subscription extra.

7. Netcomm Wi-Fi and Fusion AV upgrade: In addition to the Raymarine internal Wi-Fi system that allows operation of the free RayControl App and two-way control between your MFDs and tablets, this Riviera 45 had a separate upgraded and integrated Netcomm marine Wi-Fi system with dedicated phone.

There was also an AV upgrade of the Fusion entertainment system with an AV750 for DVD/CD playback and, moreover, complete iOS connectivity of your personal music and videos via Wi-Fi and streaming. The speakers were upgraded for different zones throughout the boat and a new inverter added for reliability. POA on this kit dependent on the boat and installation.

8. Key Software Features, Navionics and GRIB Weather: There were three key things in the software department on our Riviera 45: live weather, live sonar charts, and auto routing. Accessing some of this stuff requires a subscription to third-party satellite weather suppliers, Navionics+ charts, and so on.

Thanks to an inbuilt GRIB Viewer App, satellite weather could be accessed via Wi-Fi or a phone hotspot, with three-day windows ahead. The LightHouse GRIB Viewer app utilises Wi-Fi connectivity to download
and display high-resolution Theyr weather forecast information on-
screen.

Raymarine users simply connect to a marina Wi-Fi, a mobile hotspot, or satellite internet to download the latest forecasts. Theyr
is recognised as a leader in delivering precise weather and ocean
forecasts for recreational and professional mariners, commercial
shipping, and the offshore wind energy industry.

The high-detail
Theyr weather forecasts include important meteorological information,
including wind speed, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, air
temperature, sea surface temperature, and wave heights. You can then download the forecast to your MFD and refer back to it when out of range. Typically, this is a US$99 annual service.

The Navionics+ is another US$99 service that offers Sonar Charts Live. Not only does your sounder create detailed bathymetric charts with contours down to 30cm as you go, but you can access all the community charting data automatically from other users and therefore find hydrographical maps with amazing detail for fishing and, say, navigating a bar or busy new port of call.

The Navionics+ dock-to-dock and auto routing function also makes navigation embarrassingly easy. Configure your boat’s air and water draft, place a waypoint on your destination, press a button and let the system create a safe route away from hazards to your destination. Engage the autopilot and go… to the Whitsundays it is!

BOTTOM LINE
To be honest, the Raymarine brains did most of the thinking and processing during our test, creating a virtual drive-yourself coastal cruiser with great connectivity and safe cruising ability.

With Foxtel, Wi-Fi and remote internet access, this Riviera 45 had the kind of intelligence reserved for multimillion-dollar executive superyachts just five to 10 years ago.

True, this $44,215 (including $4950 installation by Harbourtech) of Raymarine electronics kit is a big investment, but you need to realise you’re creating a virtual new boat in the process.

For those with 10-year-old cruisers and a smaller budget, you can probably get away with an electronic upgrade for around $12k for two new multifunction screens integrated to your existing autopilot and depth sounder using a Raymarine network adaptor cable.

With marine electronics, prices are coming down and quality is going up. It’s a buyer’s and boater’s market and a great time to upgrade your boat. More at www.raymarine.com.au.

FULL RAYMARINE FIT-UP
Raymarine  electronics package on the Riviera 45' Flybridge
 2 x (E70274) eS127' MFD's = $9,798.00
1 x (E66066) DSM - eS' Transducer adaptor cable = $140.00
1 x (A80288) GA150 GPS antenna = $150.00
1 x (T70243) Quantum radar w/ data cable = $2,495.00
1 x (T70162) EVO autopilot P70R system pack = $4,249.00
1 x (E42194-2) 60STV satellite TV system = $11,499.00
1 x ? (E70122) T273 Fixed thermal camera = $6,995.00
1 x (A80266) T series video cable = $130.00
1 x (A80267) T series ethernet cable = $130.00
1 x (E70262) CAM200 IP camera = $999.00
1 x (A80159) IP camera cable = $150.00
1 x (A80007) HS-5 network switch = $400.00
1 x (A25062) STNG backbone kit = $370.00
1 x Navionics Platinum + 3D chart = $565.00
1 x Custom fabricated carbon fiber dual display dash panel = $450.00
1 x Seaview Quantum radar strut = $550.00
DC wiring , connections , conduit & circuit protection = $195.00
Estimate installation , commissioning & demonstration = $4,950.00
TOTAL = $44,215.00 inc GST
*Excludes entertainment system upgrade , marine wifi / boat phone , battery charger & other repairs