Riva

Riva is the yard we place at the top of the tender shortlist when visual impact carries as much weight as the spec sheet. Founded in 1842 by Pietro Riva on the shores of Lake Iseo in Sarnico, northern Italy, it is one of the oldest continuously operating boat builders in the world. Since 2000 it has been part of the Ferretti Group, which funds the engineering department and the long-standing design partnership with Officina Italiana Design - the studio behind every Riva hull since 1994.

Production runs across three Italian sites: the historic Sarnico yard handles models up to 21.0m; La Spezia covers the larger flybridge and sportfly range; Ancona is home to the fully custom steel-and-aluminium Superyacht Division, established in 2014. The current catalogue spans open, sportfly, and flybridge families from 8.0m to 90.0m, with the Superyacht Division extending the offering to custom projects at 50m and above.

In the tender and chase-boat segment, the tender range runs from 8.0m to 17.0m. The 11.88m Rivamare 38 is the model we see most often specified as a formal yacht tender - GRP hull, twin Volvo Penta D6 inboards, 40 knots top speed, mahogany and stainless detailing throughout. The 17.0m Rivale 56 steps up to twin 1,000 or 1,200 hp MAN V8s, cruising at 34 knots in its higher-output form. What distinguishes a Riva tender from functionally comparable hardware is finish consistency: high-gloss mahogany, teak decks, and mirror-quality lacquerwork that hold the yard's surface standards against any comparable Italian production builder. We'd put it alongside Pershing and Wally on finish, at a price point that makes the decision straightforward for captains whose programme requires a tender that needs no apology at a superyacht marina.