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We’ve all heard the adage about boats being holes in the water into which owners throw money. And while no boat could truly be described as a copper-bottomed investment, the wooden models made by the celebrated Italian builder Riva from the 1960s to the 1990s have a reputation for being more of a watertight investment than most.
The Riva name was first linked to boat building in 1842, when 20-year-old Pietro Riva set up a peripatetic repair business along the shores of Lake Iseo in northern Italy. He progressed from fixing fishing boats to building sailing yachts, skills that were passed down through three generations. It was his great-grandson who had the vision to create the range of elegant wooden-hulled speedboats that have become so associated with the nameplate.
The vintage mahogany-hulled boats (the last of which was built in 1996) quickly gained a certain cultural cachet. Beloved by movie makers, they appear in Ocean’s Twelve, Men in Black and Casino Royale and have been driven by everyone from champagne scion Guy Taittinger and film producer Carlo Ponti to industrial heir Gunter Sachs. Brigitte Bardot was given a Super Florida by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The boat, with its famed large, sunken sun deck, became a co-star in paparazzi pictures shot near her home in St Tropez.
“Such images have made the Riva one of the best-known boats of all time,”
says Alexander Latscha, president of the Riva Club de France historical society. “They came to be associated with a certain lifestyle and a level of cultural refinement.” He owns three Rivas including a 1962 Super Florida model and a 1968 Ariston.
But does the wooden Riva still hold its value, or are our rose-tinted Ray-Bans obscuring a less glamorous reality?
“The investment potential has improved over the past three or four years, partly because people like the fact that so many Rivas have really interesting owner histories,” says Peter Wallman, UK and EMEA chairman of classic car auctioneer RM Sotheby’s. The 1962 Super Ariston Dracula III owned by Sachs, and named after his St Moritz nightclub, was tipped to fetch £80,000 to £120,000 at Sotheby’s in 2012, then sold for £385,250.
Of the range of models, of which there are more than 20, the surest investments are the Aquarama and Super Aquarama. Built from 1962 until 1996, they feature 8m-plus hulls of varnished mahogany and contrasting maple strips, and can carry up to eight people at impressive speed thanks to their twin V8 engines. In 2011, American auction house Mecum sold an Aquarama for a then-record $975,000. Completed in 1996, it was the last new wooden-hulled Riva and was delivered to the founding family of the Sony Corporation two years later. Today, Gloucestershire-based brokerage and dealership Riva Revival is offering an Aquarama Series III built in 1971, which features a new deck and rebuilt engines, for €750,000.
Other models are more affordable. Florida and Super Florida models, which feature American car-style steering wheels and chrome, deck-mounted horns, can be found for around €50,000 to €120,000.
The glamorous image is beguiling, but it’s important to think carefully before buying, especially when considering a restoration project, notes Latscha – look out for rotten woodwork, tired engines and heavily-worn interiors. Nick Thompson, who founded Riva Revival in 1998, says: “All wooden Rivas are old ladies now, and they have to be looked after. Anyone contemplating buying one needs to look into its renovation history.” Pay close attention to the decking, which is easily damaged by rain and lake water, and the bottom panels of the hull, which are especially vulnerable and don’t last for much more than 15 or 20 years (and cost around €50,000 to €60,000 to replace).
Despite such expenses, Thompson believes Rivas to be worthwhile purchases, “compared with buying a new fibreglass boat that immediately depreciates”. He adds: “While it can take up to a year to sell a Riva, owners usually get their money back and sometimes make a profit.”
Those who do invest should employ reputable specialists to look after them. “You can’t really afford to bump a mooring or knock against another boat – it could damage the varnish and open up a way for water to penetrate,” says Latscha. Well-regarded names include Riva Classiche (the classic division of the modern-day Riva brand), Netherlands-based Riva-World and Monaco Boat Service.
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