Riva Olympic

[EME]

The good lady has found one of the above for sale in South of France. Like all ladies she seems to like RIVAs and this on is very cheap ( but obviously is a 'project') and she doesn't seem to mind it may sit in the garage for a very long time...

Anyone know about this RIVA other than the normal web stuff ..anyone actually been on one? anyone got any experience of actually doing all that varnishing? B-Ben , any views ?

 

[burgundyben]

Olympic I think one of the smaller single engine ones? maybe? Riva's not really an expert subject of mine (neither is anything else).

Varnishing is one of the more enjoyable parts of looking after a wooden boat, sadly removing the old stuff is a crap long tough boring pain in the arse. Varnish is cheap, but labour if your not going to do it your self is loads.

Ideal if you've got a cruising ground with lots of harbours and bays and stuff to tear around, would make nice solent day launch and attract mucho attention unlike anything plastic.

In general I'd advise most people not to buy a wood boat project unless you specifically want a project, if you want a boat to use then buy one someone else has spent years crying over.

How much is it?

 

[tcm]

a quick google shows bb is correct, single engine. Very gorgeous bateau tho, or it will be when fixed. I agree entirely with BB - a sparkling one is £26k (or was) and looks like a ton of effort to restore. Buy a decent one, not a wreck. I would normally say "unles you are really brilliant at fixing up boats" but erm, i know that you aren't. Or at least, not brilliant enuf to do a riva.

Oh, and just so we're clear about it - i WON'T be taking day excursions up to your frecnh gaffe to sandpaper or fix the thing. Unles it's raining of course, in which case erm maybe.

However, i think it's a clever ruse from your v clever swmbo to get you thinking about a swish riva. Shortly before actually buying the wreck, she'll find an advert for a nice new one. Twd be wonderful indeed to cruise the riviera on that, armed with credit card for staying at nice hotel everywhere, and after a week or so, plop it back on the trailer and take it back to an inland indoor yard and tellem to love it a bit over the winter.... hey - why didn't my blimmin swmbo think of that? damn!

 

[jfm]

Beautiful boat, and especially beautiful from the bow with varnished foredeck. From the stern it will never set the pulse racing like the Aquarama because alas it has no tumblehome nor the forward raked transom

Good project, if balance between price/amount of work is sensible. Buy it anyway, you will then have a Riva under management

 

[EME]

Details for BB and TCM follow:

Classic wooden 1971 Riva OLYMPIC speedboat for sale, needs restoration, original 220 HP V8 engine. At this time it is partly dismantled in specialist boatyard in South of France. The Olympic is the largest wooden Riva with a single engine, of which only about 200 were built. In present ownership for over 10 years. Price 20,000 Euro.

I understand the price has now gone up, as some resto including engine now done.
It will not be taken on if anything approaching major hull work needs doing ....

 

[BrendanS]

Yep, like this

 

[paulineb]

oooooo pretty !!!

and Learner, Mr B says if you don't want it, please can he have the details ?

 

[EME]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and just so we're clear about it - i WON'T be taking day excursions up to your frecnh gaffe to sandpaper or fix the thing. Unles it's raining of course, in which case erm maybe.


[/ QUOTE ]

Drat ... that spoiled the plan, doesn't rain enough down there

Wanted - Manic engineer with own toolboxes/ industrial-strength tools required to spend zillions of unpaid hours on endless project - no knowledge of working with copper sheet necessary /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[EME]

I'm going to have a look for the hell of it next week sometime .. I'll take some photos for all.

 

[paulineb]

Let me know if you buy it, Mr B has the website of a company who supplies all the spares for those boats.

 

[miket]

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but if €20k buys this and £26k buys a "done" version there would seem no contest unless you particularly want the therapy of spending the next 12 months restoring it to end with a finish which is unlikely to match that of the Riva factory. (apologies if this is a slur on your abilities)

£14k buys you very little in the way of "craftsmen" hours when it comes to boat restoration. There will always be horrors unearthed as the initial work begins. If you think it will cost £5k double it to £10k. If £10k double it to £20k, etc.

Lovely job though.

If you particularly want something like this there is a make called "Boesch" (spelling might be off) which look almost as good as Riva but usually cost a lot less. www.botentekoop.nl usually have one or two. Believe there is an associated site linked to this, too.

 

[EME]

Definitely not a slur on my abilities . I am to DIY what Happy Prince 'arry is to global diplomacy.

Point actually being to have a laugh over a long time, renovating the thing and (probably) reselling before completion; having said that if it is in poor condition and needed more than cosmetic/mechanical reengineering I won't touch it. Fortunately it is currently at a specialist so I can get some idea from them of the costs /work involved before doing anything rash

 

[PaulGlatzel]

I have a 1968 Riva Florida that is in very poor condition and awaiting a rebuild. We were quoted £35k by Peter Freebody (http://www.boatbuilder.co.uk/) on the Thames who is an expert in Rivas. We were also quoted about £15-20k by a chap based near Chertsey who had done an outstanding job on a Chris Craft. The amount of work involved on such a boat is well beyond my DIY capability

Peter's company also sells the Riva two book set which will detail any history re your boat & has loads of info re all of the models

Our Riva would fetch c£40k fully restored so its not really a great way of making money.

Check out www.rivagb.com too

Paul

 

[EME]

Thanks for the info .. if I proceed I will follow up

 

[paulineb]

Paul, do you have any pictures of her ?

 

[petem]

Paul,

Unfortunately I'm not a potental buyer but to understand the maths I would be interested to know how much you're asking for your boat.

I took a look at the Peter Freebody site and there's some pics of a Riva Aquarama rebuild. I've seen these pics somewhere before. Was it a rebuild for a celebrity by any chance?

Pete

 

[PaulGlatzel]

Pauline

Can only find one at present - plus one of what it should look like. It was left in a field in Spain for 11 years before we acquired it. Major problem will be the lack of the original screen - anyone got one?

Paul

Uploaded image here -
http://www.powerboat-training.co.uk/riva.htm

 

[PaulGlatzel]

Pete

We've had quite a few offers (we've been storing the boat for about 3 years since we acquired it) but we're not selling. In respect of the maths everyone i've met with any experinence of such rebuilds says add 50-60% to any quote you receive. Hence my point that when we get it up and running it will be because we want to have such a fabulous craft rather than because we'll sell it on at a profit, overall i feel it will cost more to get going than it is worth. But that's not really the point with a Riva!

Paul

 

[petem]

I agree. Florida also much better looking than Olympic. As for cost, perhaps you might lose a little cash in the restoration but a real enthusiast derives pleasure simply from restoring and owning such a craft. If it was me I'd restore it and keep it in my garage. Then in the winter I'd sit in the boat (with a beer in my hand), in my garage and smell the wood. Some things are truly priceless!

 

[petem]

Pauline,

Here's a similar vessel....

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F48083/