Riva Boats
"We restore Rivas the way the original factories built them."
The Riva was originally built in Italy and few companies in the US have the qualifications to work on them. At Northwest Classic boats, we have the qualifications and the expertise to restore these boats. We reproduce complete sides and decking with the same type of mahogany and to the exact specifications that Riva used originally. The utmost care is taken to produce quality craftmanship virtually identical to the original.
When restoring a Riva, we take great care in choosing the wood. We have purchased thousands of board feet of the correct woods required to restore any model of Riva. We use light Kaya for the deck plies, Sipo and Sapalee for the covering boards, and Sapalee and Kaya in 39-foot lengths for the hull planking.
As we rebuild the bottom structure prior to putting down the bottom skin, all framework and support blocking is inspected and anything suspect is removed and replaced. All work is glued with West System Epoxy, and either screwed or riveted together, depending on the original type of construction. All thru-hull holes are sealed with epoxy to assure that no water will penetrate the end grain of the ply panels. The inside and outside surfaces of the ply are then sealed with epoxy prior to painting. An outside layer of epoxy penetrated fiberglass cloth is then applied upon request for the ultimate in leak prevention and longevity.
Hull Sides & Transom
Hull sides and transoms are molded right on the boat using solid mahogany for the inside diagonals and full-length mahogany, Khaya, Sipo and Sapele for the outer layer. This achieves a seamless hull side with even coloring as done originally. Fasteners are placed in the exact pattern as the original and plugged from the same board. All is vacuum pressed for a superior bond using West System Epoxy.
Decking
Using the same type of materials as in the original boat, the deck ply is manufactured in-house to exact specifications. Deck plies are hand built and vacuum-pressed and laid up in the traditional three-ply with the top layer all cut from the same board. This produces a seamless and even colored deck.
Light Khaya at 4mm thick is used for the top ply and regular Khaya is used throughout for the other plies. The inlays are cut from straight-grained spruce. Cover boards and toe rails are cut from beautiful Sapalee or Sipo depending on the specific model and year in which the boat was built. Fasteners are placed in the original locations and plugged with the appropriate size plug cut from the same boards.
Finish
All finish is applied in our clean 1500 sq ft. varnish facility. The finish will be either traditional varnish or the catalyzed Stoppani used on the later models. When Stoppani is not available due to shipping constraints, a suitable clear polyurethane will be substituted to achieve the desired finish.
