18-foot 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera
Boat summary: 18-foot 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera
The Chris-Craft Riviera was a fairly popular-style runabout during the 1950s, and from 1950-54 the production run totaled a solid 1,210 (hull numbers R-18-001 to R-18-1210). This stylefeatures natural mahogany sides and top deck, with the distinctive blond king plank, narrow on the fore deck and wide aft of the cockpit over the motor hatch and back of the transom.
This turn-key boat is in beautiful “show condition.” It has all the original wood from the waterline up, including hull and top decks, which have been meticulously refinished. The bottom was completely replaced with new 3M 5200-style construction. This boat has a KLC 120hp motor that has been completely rebuilt and has only 15 hours of use. It has the correctly colored red interior with all other period and production items correct, including waterline and bottom paint. The sale also included a 2011 C-Hawk custom single-axle trailer.
The boat’s new owners own a marina and are dealers for contemporary Chris-Craft boats. When not in use, this boat will occupy the sales floor next to the new boats. It will provide a fine example of one of the more popular vintage models.
Sold for $35,000
Market Summary: Other Rivieras in different sizes – as well as similarly styled modelslike the Capri – never came close to attaining the same popularity as this model. There are currently 97 of them listed in the 2011 ACBS Directory, so fewer than 10 percentsurvive. These boats always command a lot of attention and the market remains strong. Considering the 2011 Hagerty Classic Lifestyle Survey indicated the average value of all classic boats is $36,000,the price paid for this Bristol-condition Riviera is a bargain.
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