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Chase scenes with Riva Aquarama?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by gusopenshaw, Apr 18, 2009.

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  1. gusopenshaw

    gusopenshaw New Member

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    Hi, I'm a relative greenhorn looking for someone with a lot of knowledge of the Riva Aquarama, which I'm writing about. First, the chase scenes you see in movies, where one boat is forced onto land for a while (there was a youTube-viewable scene like this in Live and Let Die): Is that possible? If so, what is propelling the craft other than momentum and gravity, assuming the street is sloped. Also, what would the action of the engines be? What would happen to the propellers? Do they provide propulsion in any way?

    Thank you.
  2. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Gravity, momentum and probably a cable tied to a truck as well as some good editing. Propellers don't work so well on land.:D Welcome to Forums.
  3. gusopenshaw

    gusopenshaw New Member

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    Thanks for the welcome and the response.

    I'm interested in learning as much as I can about the reality. What do the propellers do?--simply act like house fans. Or, by shoving away sand, is there any propelling action at all?

    Also, how much damage would the inline engines and the craft sustain?

    And what happens on the other side of the bit of land (say it's a 150 feet of sand) once the engines hit the water again? What is the visual effect if any of the spinning rotors striking water? And the sounds?

    I'm much obliged. My book will be published by Doubleday in a bit less than a year, and if I can get some good answers here, the Acknoweldgments Page will reflect that.
  4. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

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    In all likelihood a Riva would self-destruct before it actually re-entered the water. The running gear would be torn away and would likely take a fair amount of the hull with it.
  5. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Exactly Ken!

    As I recall, the 'Live and Let Die' flick used jet drive Glastron's (possibly Hydrostreams), but NOT Rivas. It would be sheer sacrilege to subject this to a Riva, not to mention cost prohibitive. Besides, the weight of a Riva gives it the over-the-road drag coefficient of brick building.

    There were no special effects used in the boat chase scenes, just momentum. Because these boats were jet drive, they had no protruding appendages such as props or rudders to contend with. My Jeopardy quotient is questionable, but I seem to recall a few boats being destroyed during this film. Not a surprise, the lay-up on both Glastrons and Hydrostreams were the marine equivalent of a potato chip.

    I do recall one thing with clarity... the soundtrack for the boats was actually derived from an outboard motor, not the inboard/jet drive they used. I thought I was pretty smart for knowing that when I was 12 years old. ;)
  6. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    A Jet Powered Craft will travel up a boat ramp/beach for a lot further than you would think and not suffer any real damage if approached at a good speed and trimmed down by the stern a little bit.

    An example of this I personally know someone who could get a Kawasaki 440 Jet Ski ( Remember those folks) all the way up the Boat Ramp on to the heli pad at Fisher Island regardless of the state of the tide much to the amusement of his fellow crew members watching from the sidelines.
  7. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    I'll wager $20 bucks that fellow was YOU. I've heard the stories! :D

    All too many neophytes missed the trailer and used the boat ramp to beach JetSkis through the years. But unlike the fiberglass boats mentioned above that will crack at the thought of hitting a wave, Kawasaki uses Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) in the construction of their hulls. It has the abrasion resistance of Delrin. Good for a lifetime of beaching... even on helipads.
  8. gusopenshaw

    gusopenshaw New Member

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    Certainly it would be sacrilege to subject a Riva Aquarama to this sort of thing, but this is for fiction, so it wouldn't cost anything. I would like the action to be as true-to-life as possible, still.

    Is there any way to get a photo of the Riva from below--i.e., does anyone have a link--to get an idea of how much stuff is protruding/might of might not get sheered off?

    Also, story exigencies mandate the hero be in a super-expensive, vintage motorboat at the time of the chase, but the location of the "land-crossing" can be amended in suit reality: For example, the boat could cross (in trying to escape a behemoth of a police cutter) a giant sandbar. Might a Riva Aquarama survive intact in that case?
  9. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I remember reading somewhere that they destroyed 18 different Hydrostreams/Glastrons to make that scene.
  10. CapLady

    CapLady Senior Member

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    I think there is a Riva out of the water at Allied Marine on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale right now, but I don't think it is an Aquarama. I'm going to the Downtowner for breakfast tomorrow which is right next door. I'll see if it's there. If it is, I'll try to get a pic of the bottom.

    In the mean time, this is a picture of the running gear on a scale model:

    Attached Files:

  11. orion

    orion Senior Member

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  12. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Some good GT-150 factoids in that link Kurt. I found a 7 minute YouTube video with the 'Live and Let Die' boat chase scene, clearly showing these were jet drive boats...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P9fbQik8Wg

    The over-the-road jump scene was certainly an outboard. I would speculate that a ramp was built with a cut-out down the center allowing the lower unit to pass through without obstruction during the launch.
  13. Deckies Feet

    Deckies Feet New Member

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    I've driven a few of these and if one hit a sand bar the likelihood of it ever floating again is slim. The shafts would be ripped out instantly which would more then likely take a significant part of the gear box with it. If you were lucky enough not to rip them out it would send them, the rudder and the p-brackets though the hull. That will sink you pretty quick. Don’t forget these are wood, which in its day was great but 30 years on and its not going to survive a land assault.

    Was involved in the Film Sahara a few years ago and they ran a number of vessels ashore, they covered the beach and land area in Morocco with ball bearings. Ended up having boats hitting the beach/land and just kept going. Very scary for camera man filming as a large Vosper Thorny Craft comes flying towards you on land!
  14. Deckies Feet

    Deckies Feet New Member

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    Pictures of it modern day example. Sorry could not quite get under it to show shafts

    Attached Files:

  15. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    And here we have a Riva Aquamarine... docked! :D

    Great pic Deckies Feet!
  16. gusopenshaw

    gusopenshaw New Member

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    I hugely appreciate all of this information. Now it's easy to understand why the boat would be history.

    What if the sand bar were a few of feet underwater?

    In that case, might the Riva make it across and the chase craft, a behemoth cutter, get beached?

    Also, Deckies Feet, what was the function of the ball bearings? Wouldn't that be even worse on the boat? The reason I ask is if the ball bearings allow for some traction, I could load my fictitious sand bar with wonderfully smoothed stones that replicate ball bearings?

    Thank you all.
  17. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Since the statute of limitations is passed...In my mispent youth, on a hot summer day, I saw a CG launch and the fellows aboard looked a bit warm so I headed for them, pulled a hard turn to port at the last second and sent a fairly good wall of spray to them (perfect Surfside 6 move). They didn't appreciate the jesture and took chase. I headed for a bar that was about 1' deep and unlocked my OB. I made; they didn't. I also didn't show my face on that bay for awhile after.;)
  18. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    NYCapt, I want to buy you a drink! :D
  19. Deckies Feet

    Deckies Feet New Member

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    Friend took them back in UK (isurance)how you would explain this one! Slightly embarrassing. Story was it belonged to an old boy who had his niece on board!!! Maybe got a little excited

    Same i only have the 3 pics

    Attached Files:

  20. Deckies Feet

    Deckies Feet New Member

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    Ball bearings were purely for the film crew/director to get a shot of the boat going ashore 'at speed'. Apparently when the craft first hit the shore it was digging in rather hard and did not look at 'Hollywood'
    However an old instructor we used for clients did tell me that while in the Royal Marinas they would train for high speed landing by hit the shore in there RIB’s. i.e. flat out towards shore and prior to the engine making contact release the catch. However these were small craft and you could tilt the engines manually. Plus I imagine they did not have a long life span especially with marines driving it!