Riviera 51 Engine Room Ventilation Retrofit Project

April 9, 2023

Brad Marsden

Director - Marine Air Flow International

35 Years Experience in the Marine Industry

Retrofitting a Marine Air Flow ventilation system into a Riviera 51

MAFI grilles retrofitted to a Riviera 51

Riviera, one of Australia's premiere luxury cruising vessel brands have been a Marine Air Flow client for quite some time. We started doing the ventilation systems for all their smaller boats and have slowly built up to designing and creating systems for almost all of their vessels.

We are super proud of our relationship with Riviera, no more so than when they recommend clients who have older Rivs to us for a retrofit.

This particular vessel is a 2003 model that was having a refit in Cairns. Due to the complex shape of the penetrations and the fact that they have fashion coverings, Brad himself jumped on a plane and flew up to Cairns to inspect and design this system.

Info on the boat and project

Riviera 2003 51 project info:

58 feet (including duck board and extras)
powered by two 825hp engines.
designed and constructed by Riviera Australia
fibreglass hull and superstructure
780 litres per second required for combustion air
30% loading was added to accommodate for the hot and humid conditions the vessel operates in
MAFI supplied single stage mist eliminator grilles & multiple DC Compact fans for this project

These Riv 51's are very popular for family cruising, onshore fishing and for private use, however this vessel is used as a charter boat for Lizard Island. It operates in the far north of Australia and while the vessel isn't routinely taken out in very rough weather, it does operate in what can be extreme heat.

Part of our calculations for any engine room that is on a boat in a hot or humid environment allows for a good leeway in exchange air. We always work on the very worst conditions the vessel might be used in and ensure that the ventilation system is designed to meet those requirments as a minimum.

All MAFI grilles are designed and manufactured from high grade marine alloy extrusion & assembled and welded 100% with no dissimilar metals or fixings. This prevents premature corrosion, significantly improving the service life of the product.