This project was done in 2020 in collaboration with Riva to restore a classic Riva Aquariva 30ft yacht. The finishings on the yacht were very old, while the varnish was diminished. The mahogany had also become thin, with some areas already lifting caused by extreme heat conditions. Thus, the MS1 team worked to restore the inherent beauty of this legendary yacht.
A tent was installed around the boat along with an airconditioning unit to reduce the temperature to 28 degrees for better installation conditions.
Cleats and hatches were removed from the boat, and the old mahogany was removed from the exterior of the boat.
All surfaces were sanded down carefully to ensure the exterior surface of the boat was flat and smooth.
298 Sikaflex was applied under the new mahogany planks, which acted as a bounding agent as each piece was placed and fitted together.
A special plastic was covered over the new mahogany exterior surface, and the air between the plastic and the surface was sealed and vacuumed out for 8 hours, which allowed the mahogany to be set in place.
The surface was cleaned with acetone to remove any dust particles.
Epoxy resin was applied to fill in any minor imperfections and holes in the surface of the mahogany.
2 to 3 coats of varnish were added, and the surface was sanded and polished for a nice and smooth finish.