Riviera 575 SUV

Lifestyle Aboard the 575 SUV

Over 35 years of building some of the finest luxury yachts in the world, Riviera has made an art form of clean and uncluttered cockpits designed both for serious fun, and for serious fishing.

However, the 575 SUV takes this to a whole new level, with an entirely new cockpit design that really does fulfill the dreams of any cruiser or angler.

For one thing, it's 13.13m2 (141.3ft2) in size. You can imagine that when our talented team of designers set out to optimise this space they envisaged an entirely new indoor/outdoor experience – one that is ideal for live-aboard cruising.

So there’s plenty of space for a table and, well, numerous chairs. But it's also large enough to allow a mezzanine level and L-shaped lounge, the ideal platform to take in the fishing action … or the sunset.

Or, when underway, just an eye-widening view of the awesome, rapidly vanishing contrail of a 57-foot yacht, on song, at full throttle.

Stepping aboard

As you step from the Riviera 575 SUV’s large GRP swim platform through the transom door – which conveniently opens out and has a folding bridge for added safety – you’ll begin to appreciate just how this clever new cockpit design utilises every piece of available space.

The standard layout features a new-style three-seater transom lounge and storage bin aft, which can be converted to a live bait tank, depending on your specific needs.

Under the cockpit floor you will discover volumes of storage and multiple engineering access hatches – to port there is a fish bin and a massive centre lazarette.

Indeed, the entire yacht is virtually an Aladdin’s Cave of storage solutions.

Even the cockpit flanks are full of hidden storage for tackle, equipment or lines.

Also here in the cockpit are wash-down facilities – both fresh and salt water – a double-action manual bilge pump for the engine room and both flood and courtesy lighting, while optional rod-holders and a padded bolster can be fitted to the cockpit coaming. There are recessed cleats in the aft corners so lines won't snag, as well as toe kicks for bracing as you reel in your prized catch.

The corner scuppers below the recessed cleats are covered by handsome flush stainless grates.

There’s even a reinforced plate in the cockpit floor for an additional table or future game chair.

The elevated mezzanine features an L-shaped lounge to port with fridge, freezer and storage space under, as well as a folding table with cover. Behind the seat across the rear of the bulkhead is access to the lockable battery and AC control panel and manual bilge pump. To starboard in the forward corner, is a double barbecue, fridge, ice-maker, rubbish bin and sink.

The cockpit is complete with a covered joystick-control or thruster-control docking station to port, and triangular quarter clears both port and starboard are standard to keep any wind and spray out of the cockpit.

Stepping inside

As you slide open the glass saloon door, set in a substantial, polished, marine-grade stainless steel frame, you immediately sense that you are stepping into a high-end modern apartment – a creative space designed to deliver all the delights of a lavish and contemporary city lifestyle.

Immediately to port there’s the aft galley – a generous and efficient two-person U-space just off to one side of any fore and aft traffic. Here, cockpit connectivity is cultivated with a wide opening glass window that brings the outdoors (and entertainment) inside, and confirms the galley as very much the 'conductor's podium' of the social scene.

The 575’s galley itself is akin to a display kitchen for the latest in premium-brand appliances and conveniences, complemented by satin oak timber cabinetry with teak accents above the solid-surface bench tops. Its warm heart is a stainless steel cooking array that includes a combination oven/microwave, electric three-element induction cooktop and rangehood. The refrigeration suite features both fridge and freezer drawers. And the well-placed dishwasher, within easy reach of the stainless steel sink and mixer tap, is also a back-friendly, easy-opening style.

Directly opposite to starboard, almost as an extension to the galley, are further fridge and freezer drawers that operate smoothly, as does all the cabinetry that opens and shuts on the 575, on soft-close runners.

But, then, everything on the Riviera 575 SUV is intended to run smoothly.