Listing Highlight: 2011 Riviera 43 Open Flybridge “Happy Ending II”

The Boat

The Riviera 43 Open Flybridge has a reputation in this market, and it has earned it. Riviera builds in Queensland, Australia, and the quality shows in ways you notice immediately when you step aboard: tight joinery, a cherry wood interior with a proper gloss finish, real storage built into the design rather than added as an afterthought. This is not a boat that looks impressive at a boat show and disappoints in real use. It is built for owners who actually want to go somewhere.

The 43 Open Flybridge also sits in a useful size range. Big enough to do extended cruising with the family. Manageable enough that a single person can handle her without a full crew. For South Florida buyers looking at the Bahamas run or extended time on the hook, it is a practical choice at a realistic scale.

Performance

She runs twin Volvo Penta IPS600 pod drives, 435 horsepower each. Total output of 870 horsepower through a pod drive system, which matters more than the number itself. IPS drives work differently from a traditional shaft arrangement. The drives are mounted forward-facing beneath the hull and push rather than pull, which improves fuel efficiency, reduces noise into the cabin at cruise, and changes how the boat docks.

Joystick docking is standard with this setup. If you have ever wrestled a single-engine or shaft-drive boat into a tight slip in a crosswind, that detail alone is worth paying attention to. You get meaningful control at low speeds that traditional drives simply do not offer.

Top end sits around 31 knots. Comfortable cruise is in the low-to-mid 20s depending on load and sea state. For the Bahamas crossing from Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach, she handles the Gulf Stream well. The hull is offshore rated to 200 nautical miles and tracks cleanly in the short, steep chop that builds when the wind and current disagree. The IPS drives keep the stern planted in following seas in a way shaft drive boats often do not.

One engineering detail worth understanding: the IPS placement moves the engines significantly aft compared to conventional shaft drive. That is not just a handling advantage. It frees up real volume below decks, volume that goes directly into the accommodation layout. You feel it the moment you go below.

Interior and Layout

Two staterooms below. The forward master has a queen island bed, a cedar-lined hanging wardrobe, extensive storage throughout, and a private ensuite with full shower and quality fixtures. Private means private. Not a shared head a few steps away. An actual en suite with a door.

The amidships guest stateroom is full beam at that section of the hull. Opening portholes on both sides and a large skylight positioned directly under the windscreen above bring in more natural light and ventilation than you typically find in a 43-footer. It does not feel like a compromise stateroom. It feels like a real cabin.

The main salon is organized around a U-shape lounge to starboard seating seven, with a varnished cherry high-low table at the center. The galley sits forward and slightly to port, open enough to stay connected to the room, tucked enough to give the cook some separation. There is a breakfast bar forward for two.

The feature that changes the character of this boat is the large sliding glass door between the salon and cockpit. Open it and the inside and outside become one continuous space. It is the kind of detail that sounds minor in a spec sheet and registers immediately in real use. Friday afternoon entertaining, Sunday morning coffee, evenings at anchor, the boundary between the salon and the cockpit just disappears.

Paul Denton Jr. | Luke Brown Yachts, Fort Lauderdale, FL pd@lukebrown.com | (386) 295-4668