2015 Riviera Belize 54 Sedan

If the legendary wooden boats of our past had kept evolving, how might they look today?

Belize could well offer some insights.

We sense they may have stayed with a lower profile than many of todays offerings. Not just for beautys sake, but because the more tall and top-heavy a boat, the more ungainly and susceptible to windage.

The trick is to have a sweet sheerline and profile without it stealing room below decks. On the Belize, the sheer remains fairly flat until gently rising toward the bow.

But in this case, even good looks can be deceiving; the Belize actually delivers greater space in the sizing of beds, heads, showers, in fact all living areas than similar-sized production counterparts.

Its a testimony to very experienced thinking, artful computer-aided design and stronger, less bulky miracle materials. But there are more differences: Unusually for a motoryacht today, the Belize sheer is really the top edge of a substantial and shippy bulwark instead of a token toerail for more secure side access and drier passagemaking.

This bulwark is in turn capped with a shaped teak rail (left natural, but available with four coats of gloss, if desired).

Set atop the caprail is a beautifully electro-polished array of stainless stanchions (32mm rather than 25mm) carrying two horizontal rails that wrap right around the boat, to almost halfway along the cockpit.

The top rail isnt the usual 25 or 30mm pipe, but a 60mm X 40mm elliptical shape that, as the hand falls upon it, feels as substantial as the reassuring traditional teak handrail of days gone by without the vulnerability and maintenance.

As you well know, the geometry beneath any planing powerboat is crucial to performance.

Belize was never going to make do with some off-the-shelf version, nor even settle for creating their own in the absence of propulsion data.

First prize, really, is to design in conjunction with the particular drive setup a boat will have.

Because Cummins Zeus pod drives had been agreed upon for the 54, the boats running surface was primarily penned on that specific basis. First, by Ocean Yacht Designs, then reviewed by Cumminss own in-house naval architects.

With all their approvals in hand, the hull was then taken to the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Tasmania, for two rounds of tank testing.

Further shape tweaks were made during AMCs testing; all the time improving efficiency, (a reduction in running trim angle, for instance, as well as a nice bonus of less effective power required) and resulting in a shape beautifully mated to her power source.

Essentially, its a warped-plane hull with a very fine entry, and strong flare decreasing to a fairly flat run aft a deadrise of 12 degrees.

Further aiding efficiency are pod tunnels scooped into the aft section, protecting props and allowing a proper keel to assist tracking, with a very substantial turn-down chine in the bow to deflect spray and deliver a more dry and silky ride offshore.

The boat simply proceeds in a stately fashion, in keeping with her exterior style.