343 NAUTICAL MILES
MAXIMUM CRUISING RANGE AT 28.7 KNOTS
having real bulkheads as opposed to thin veneer partitions. The quietness is particularly surprising in the master, which is closest to the engine room. The stateroom’s watertight bulkhead door was closed when I approached it, and I could barely hear a sound, but when I swung it open, I discovered that both gensets were running behind all the sound-deadening material. ¶ I found similar tranquility while standing above the engine room, where cruisers and anglers will spend a lot of time. Riviera calls this space the “back porch.” Technically, the area is a mezzanine raised above cockpit level and separated from the salon. But that term doesn’t accurately describe the space. ¶ Walk out of the salon through the stainless-steel-framed sliding door, and—rather than enter the cockpit—you find a room very much like a screened-in porch. Parts of the sides and the back are enclosed (or not) with clear canvas. An L-shaped dinette is to starboard, and a settee is to port. ¶ The area is sure to be the dining spot of choice when cooking up the catch of the day on the cockpit’s integrated electric grill. When someone is prepping a meal in the galley, access to the back porch is easy because a window next to the salon door swings up and open on hinges, connecting the two areas. ¶ Owners who prefer an outdoor experience more akin to lounging on a wide-open, sun-warmed patio can walk up to the bow. There’s a full-size settee up there, plus a lounge and cocktail table. ¶ Usually, choosing a yacht requires making some sacrifices. An owner might swap luxury for fishability, usable interior space for usable exterior space, range for speed, and so on. But the Riviera 64 Sports Motor Yacht left me scratching my head, trying to think of what someone would have to give up to own it. ¶ I’m still thinking—and probably will be for a long time to come.