thinking about buying a silverton 50 fly bridge or riviera fly bridge 2007 or newer. which one is built better? I will be using it for going up down west coast out of mission bay.
The 50 Silverton has a Donald Blount designed hull and is a really good running boat. They usually have Volvo Penta D12 or D13's, which are pretty reliable and have decent service in SD. I think they pretty much copied the Steel Girder engine stringer installation design from Viking. It probably offers a little bit more creature comforts than the Riviera, but you did not state what size Riviera you are looking at. I would give it an edge as a cruiser. It might depend on how "fishy" you want to get, with the Riviera getting the nod in that arena. Either way, look for who can offer some type of support in SD resembling your typical dealer/factory support. Since Silverton doesn't exist in the same business sense anymore, it also helps to locate the SD boatyards that typically have done factory warranty and commissioning for these boats, and talk to them first hand about any quality issues. Talk to Shelter Island Boatyard first........
