The low-slung, high-end Riviera Belize 66 Sedan, with its singular looks, is now being featured at the Palm Beach International Boat Show. Belize is a boutique brand from Riviera, the large Australian builder with a 40-year history of making solid, well-performing blue-water boats. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS pod drives, the Belize 66 tops out at about 33 knots; dial back to 10 knots, and it has a range of more than 900 nm.
Belize offers a greater level of customization than is possible in most Riviera models. The Belize 66 comes with three or four staterooms, three heads and gleaming hand-crafted interiors. In the three-stateroom version, the midships master stateroom is full beam; so is the master head and shower. In other versions, that large head area could be a massive walk-in wardrobe, a utility room, a workshop or even a crew cabin.
The boat has a large swim platform and a tender garage. The cockpit is meant for comfort and entertaining. A settee is across the transom, and a large L-shaped lounge and gleaming teak table, on a stainless pedestal, are to starboard. An outdoor galley and bar are to port. The entire area is covered for weather protection.
A sliding glass door opens to the salon, and a large glass window on the starboard bulkhead lifts up for access to the U-shaped gourmet galley with a double sink and marble countertops. A dinette is forward on the starboard side, with a lounge opposite to port.
The salon is filled with light from the side windows, the sunroof and three skylights with shades overhead. The helm station is offset to port, but the wheel is on the centerline of the boat. A watertight pantograph door provides immediate access to the port side deck to make docking or anchoring easy.
Below, in either the three- or four-stateroom version, the VIP cabin is forward with a walkaround berth and an en suite head. In the three-cabin model, the guest stateroom is aft a bit to port with twin berths and a head.
Volvo’s 1,000-hp, in-line, six-cylinder common-rail diesels with IPS1350 pod drives provide great fuel efficiency, low noise levels, and exceptional maneuvering with a fingertip joystick.
Specs.: LOA: 69’3”; Beam: 17’11”; Draft: 4’11”; Disp.: 76,000 lbs.; Fuel: 1,188 gals.; Water: 185 gals.; Power: 2×1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives.
