Sairu – Riva’s new superyacht flagship

In Italian, the word “navetta” means “little ship” or “shuttle”. Italian yacht builders often describe their semi-displacement or displacement models as navettas to differentiate them from smaller, nimbler, planing-hull yachts. But not all larger Italian yachts are considered navettas by their builders. Case in point: Riva’s new flagship in its superyacht division, the Riva 54 Metri.

The 54.8- metre aluminium Riva replaces the Riva 50, the former flagship that was introduced in 2019. With five cabins and four decks, she has the all hallmarks of what you would typically call a navetta, but Sergio Beretta, co-founder of the yacht’s exterior design studio Officina Italiana Design, rejects the name.

“The [old] Riva 50 was a concept of boat that was more ‘navetta’ style,” he explains. But the new 54 “is an extension of the Sportfly Riva range”. So, in theory, she is more slick and sporty, paying homage to the brand’s original speedy dayboat roots.

The result of a collaboration between Officina Italiana Design and Riva’s parent company the Ferretti Group (both its strategic product committee and engineering department), the first Riva 54 Metri, Sairu, was built for an experienced yacht owner but first-time Riva superyacht client, who came from a Heesen of around 50 metres. You might think that the yacht’s slightly more “sportive character”, as Beretta puts it, would be almost imperceptible.

After all, every Riva yacht shares a similar design language, relying heavily on the glossy woods and leather and stainlesssteel details for which the builder is known. But, along with promising a more dynamic exterior, the new yacht has a few aces up its sleeve that set it apart from the rest of the Riva fleet.

Some of those aces, like the unfurling beach club and the concealed technical spaces up front, were born from the shipyard’s ideas. But others, such as the three-deck lift (a Riva first) and the huge swathes of space given over to walk-in wardrobes, came from the client for hull No 1.

Captain Mario Merl, who also worked on the owner’s Heesen, is a firm fan of the new Riva, lauding it from both a technical and operational view. “The final product is great,” Captain Merl says. “The noise level is amazing. I was astonished by the quiet in the main deck cabin.”

A lot of solutions were integrated into the 54 to this end, including floating floors, furnishings completely decoupled from the aluminium structure, viscoelastic coatings in the areas most susceptible to vibrations and bulkheads designed for maximum sound insulation.

He also points to things like the hidden storage compartments throughout the yacht, which are designed cleverly enough to not draw attention but large enough to be extremely useful, and the stability from the four fin stabilisers that make Sairu peaceful at anchor.

Although Sairu is four metres longer than the Riva 50, the gross tonnage remains roughly equal, both measuring in just under 500GT – though Sairu boasts 370 square metres more outdoor living space. If you look at the two yachts side by side, you can see what the design team means when they describe the 54 as “more dynamic and chiselled”.

The gunwales along the aft taper towards the transom, making her look like she’s in motion, and instead of a straight overhang on the windshield, the glass slopes down like a fighter-jet plane, more in the style you’d expect on a small sports yacht.

And, unlike the simpler silhouette of the 50, the 54 is ornamented with “aft-sloping cuts” in the dark glazing that contrast the still rigidity of the profile. The bow isn’t classically flared either; instead, the 54 has a wave piercer bow that the designers say improves performance.

While the 50 was all sharp edges, the 54 has a certain sculpted, pebble-like finish that feels more modern. Mauro Micheli, the other half of Officina Italiana Design, calls the yacht “the most ‘Riva’ Riva”.

Not many design studios can authoritatively turn the names of shipyards into adjectives, but if anyone can, it’s Officina Italiana Design, which has been giving Riva its signature style for more than 40 years.

Beretta and Micheli own a Rivamare, one of Riva’s dayboat offerings. Micheli believes Riva owners seek the most elegant design, and as such the design team worked to translate that feeling of arriving into a small harbour on board a head-turning “beautiful object” into the 54 Metri.

They wanted to make people stop and notice when they saw the new flagship, but not just because of the yacht’s size.

“A more elevated, art deco influence has been introduced on Sairu, as seen in the low-slung poliform sofas in the saloon and the warm-glow chandelier”

In the summer of 2026, Riva clientele were invited to a private preview of the 54 Metri during her debut in Monaco at the Cavallino Classic. The automotive event sees a line-up of rare and perfectly restored Ferraris on display in a concours d’elegance that serves as an homage to Enzo Ferrari and his collection.

The event’s collaboration with Riva is an obvious choice, since Piero Ferrari, Enzo’s son, had long been involved with Riva in both a commercial and an engineering capacity. Even alongside an enviable line-up of cars, the Riva 54 is what drew the most attention.

That is certainly what her designers intended. The water-level five- by two-metre pool might be reason enough to make passersby look twice, since it’s completely new for Riva. While other Riva superyachts have had sundeck spa pools, the 54 Metri is the first to feature a lower-deck beach club swimming pool.

The pool has a bench seat and jets and has been designed to remain full even when the yacht is underway. It is fitted with two freshwater tanks and a heating system, eliminating the need to empty and refill it for short transfers.

Flanking it are queen-sized sunbeds. From the al fresco area, guests can descend through a pantograph door into a small beach club, which is configured as a gym on the first hull, with a treadmill recessed into the floor and an elliptical trainer lined up alongside it, plus the benefit of a dayhead and steam shower. The entire aft wall is darkened glass, providing a sense of connection to the pool area while also maintaining privacy.

Andrea Catucci, chief exterior designer at Officina Italiana Design, says adding the pool and creating the beach club was a bit of a “difficult choice” because it’s not always clear if design trends in yachting will have longevity. “We want to accommodate the market’s requests but want to give them an interpretation,” he says. “We want to give the trend some meaning to help it outlive the styles that are in vogue.”

Riva yachts share a similar design lagnuage, relying heavily on the glossy woods and leather and stainless steel details for which the builder is known

The studio’s interpretation included utilising high gunwales to enclose the pool, creating privacy when the gunwales are up and giving continuity to the exterior lines. When unfolded, the gunwales become balconies.

This was a feature first seen on the 25-metre Riva 82 Diva, and it worked so well that the designers decided to add four of these platforms on the 54; two flanking the pool and beach club area and two bordering the cockpit on the main deck above. “The open transom is amazing,” Merl says. “When you see the whole thing deployed, it’s enormous.”

Crew areas were another element that Sairu’s captain was excited about. “The galley layout is perfect,” he says, pointing to the commercialgrade Rational ovens and Miele appliances. “You have everything, and it’s quite generous for a 499GT boat.”

Service was key for this owner, since Sairu has a busy future as a charter yacht. Boatsters Black is acting as her central agency, and Nerma Hecimovic, her charter manager, says the yacht was designed with strong input from the captain to create a guest-friendly recipe for charter success.

“For example, there is a dedicated panel directly connected to the pantry, allowing guests to place orders via iPad,” Hecimovic says. “The crew can step in only when necessary while still maintaining a very high level of responsiveness.” For charterers, “details like this make a real difference”, she says.

For Sairu’s central agency team, there’s a certain level of prestige that comes with having a pedigree yacht like a Riva in their charter fleet, and the market has responded as favourably as the charter manager hoped it would.

“The level of interest has been incredible from the very beginning,” Hecimovic says. “She was booked for a three-week charter in Turkey while still in the shipyard, with only four renderings released.” At the time of publication, Sairu was listed for sale, so time will tell if her new owners plan to keep her on the charter market or save her for themselves.

Up top, a spa tub sits aft on the very well-sorted and sizeable sundeck measuring more than 100 square metres. The space includes a shaded dining area for 10, a 360-degree rotating television screen that pops out from a bulkhead and huge aft sunloungers.

The aft area can be totally sheltered by an awning that’s propped up by carbon-fibre poles, a shading solution that Merl says was brought over from the owner’s past Heesen. “They’re from a company called Multiplex,” Merl says. “And they’re strong. At 30 knots [of wind], you can still go underway with them.” They also offer UV protection despite being translucent.

Another feature requested by the owner, and now offered as an optional add-on, is the fully opening window in the main deck owner’s cabin. Measuring 1.5 metres by 1.54 metres, it is composed of two steel-framed panes of glass that slide back into pockets in the superstructure, controlled by a button.

For the interior of the yacht, the Officiana Interior Design team followed the owner’s brief for a “timeless and classic design”

It’s a pleasant surprise, letting in fresh air without interrupting the profile of the yacht from the outside, and on Sairu, it overlooks a coffee arrangement with two rotating armchairs. “The window [frame] had to be lowered to allow it to open,” Beretta says.

The designers consider it lucky that the client came to them with the request from the very outset of the commissioning, so they could “redesign accordingly”.

The interior of the yacht has also been crafted by Officina Italiana Design, and the team followed the owner’s wishes for a “timeless and classic design”, according to Vittorio Blengini, sales director for custom business at Ferretti Group.

One glance at the light bouncing off the stainless-steel trims, the mirror-gloss mahogany and the piles of creamy linen offset by matt black accents tells you that Riva has brought its signature styling into the boat. Sahara noir, a type of ebony-coloured Tunisian marble, has been used liberally in the decorative niches and in the owner’s suite, contrasted with white bianco rhino.

However, there’s a more elevated, art deco influence that’s been introduced on Sairu, as seen in the low-slung Poliform sofas in the saloon and the warm-glow chandelier, chosen by the owner, made up of fluted glass above the dining table.

Blengini is probably not alone in considering Riva one of the most recognisable yacht brands in the world. He notes “it’s almost natural” for clients to want bigger and better Rivas. “We are there to accomplish that desire,” he says. But he notes that Riva owners have increasingly high expectations.

“The family feeling, the importance of the lines and the performance is something that the market expects us to excel in,” he says. Four new units of the 54 Metri have been sold, affirming that Riva is meeting these lofty client expectations by bringing its signature style to the largest canvas it has ever attempted while artfully redefining what it means to be a “Riva” for the modern era.

First published in the December 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.