Riva 25 Sport Fisherman (7.5 m) is the Italian-American classic boat that made history

Born from an unusual twinning of the iconic Riva and the American Bertam, the 25′ Sport Fisherman is a boat that actively participates in the transition between eras. We are in the late 1960s and Riva, under license from Bertram, is producing a motorboat that is innovative in its own way, with easy-going spaces now intended to facilitate movement, to provide ample breathing room, rather than limiting users to the role of passenger only.

Riva 25′ Sport Fisherman

It happens that the goodness and charm of certain old designs transcend the performance and innovation of the new. Just as with cars and certain design objects, it may be the signature or it may be the context, sometimes the ‘old’ surpasses its own age, transforming itself into a classic, into an icon. And so it is with so many Classic Boats. We saw it with the legendary
Baglietto Elba
, and we see it here with another great boat, a symbol, in its own way, of a time and a culture: it is the Riva 25′ Sport Fisherman, an Italian-American that set the standard.

Riva 25′ Sport Fisherman – Italian-American Icon

We are in the late 1960s, and the mythical years of the motorboat’s great prominence have already left their first imprint on Italian pleasure boating, here still in an early stage of ascent. Now the sites are looking for new ideas. As can sometimes still happen today, we look at each other, repeating and adapting styles that are no longer innovative, without necessarily venturing into new solutions. Thus, there are few shipyards looking at overseas innovations, taking a cue from the great growth of American boating. Among them, Riva.

Eng. Riva, in fact, as the decade came to an end, made agreements with one of the great giants of ‘Made in USA’ boating: the Bertram shipyards, which together with Hatteras, Chris Craft and Trojan, already had a predominant position in recreational boating. In Italy, on the other hand, there are yes fiberglass boats in the nine to ten meter range, but production numbers are still low and, experience, remains limited and artisanal. With the feat of the Riva 25′ Sport Fisherman, Eng. Instead, Riva marries the two traditions, Italian craftsmanship and U.S. serial production, thus giving birth to this great success that is still an inspiration today.

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Riva 25′ Sport Fisherman – Spaces on board

Elaborating on the original Betram design, Riva adapts the spaces here to Mediterranean needs, creating a boat closer to local boating and its consequent uses. The cockpit thus takes advantage of the two engine hoods – V Drive uprights – and carves out a practical and comfortable sundeck that, when not in use, can be folded back on itself, leaving the cockpit clear.

Sheltered by the stainless steel ladder, which is directed to the small but practical flybridge, is the electric sink-refrigerator block, which forms the base of the seat intended for the wheelhouse. The dashboard itself, on the other hand,features an elegant design with black circular instruments on a well-finished cabinet. Then on the right side is a dinette, comfortable for four people and convertible into a sofa or double berth, should the need arise. Finally, a tambour leads to the forward cabin, which is equipped with two V-beds and a manual pop-up toilet. Practical choice of making the tambour door also usable as a chart table. Shifting attention to the exteriors, the flybridge offers a comfortable sofa for 2 people while in the bow, in a space necessarily reduced due to the cabin structure, there is room for lockers and an anchor and chain well.

Construction

The 25′ Sport Fisherman is not the first fiberglass model from the Sarnico shipyard. Before him, in fact, was produced the 25′ Bahia Mar, a less successful model with the same hull but open, and thus without the flybridge. For the construction of the hull, Riva makes a number of changes, including refinement of waxing and greater attention to resting times between one print and the next. This makes a Riva Bertram, after a few years, look in better condition than one built with the other approach.

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Technical Specs

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