Heritage
One hundred and eighty years, a few good yards.
The boats we render in miniature did not appear from nowhere. Each came from a yard with a hand on the plank and an eye on the water.
Read the Journal→Christopher Columbus Smith builds his first wooden boats on the St. Clair River. The Algonac yard will set the American standard for varnished-mahogany runabouts for a century.
Open dossier →Jacob Boesch founds a yard on Lake Zurich, marrying Swiss precision joinery to the elegance of the lacquer-finished runabout. The 970 St. Tropez becomes its emblem.
Open dossier →Pietro Riva arrives from Laglio on Lake Como to repair boats at Sarnico. The Riva name will grow on this quiet Lombard shore for four generations.
Carlo Riva launches the era of the gentleman's speedboat. The Aquarama — twin cockpits, Italian hull — defines the wooden boat for a generation.
Open dossier →The Aquarama enters production. Nineteen coats of varnish, hand-laid mahogany, a leather cockpit for two. It will be built, by hand, for thirty-four years.
Riva ceases production of the all-wooden hull. The Aquarama is retired. The boats become heirlooms — passed down, restored, kept on.
Pardo reopens the conversation between Italian yachting and the modern silhouette. The reverse bow of the Pardo 38 joins the atelier as a contemporary study.
Open dossier →
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