I'm the first to admit that I made a mistake. You see when jets first started to catch on with mainstream boaters; I dismissed them as a fad that would soon fad away. I tested a few initial jet designed boats and was not overly impressed by the handling characteristics. What was the problem? The basic issues of early jet boats is that they were not designed for jets, and were more retrofits. Then builders like Ted Hood began to produce hulls designed specifically for jets. Today, there are a host of boats, like the Rivolta Coupe 4.0L, which are specifically designed for jets and shallow water conditions. The Rivolta Group can trace its origins back three generations to Italy, and specializes in the design of motorcycles, cars, and more recently boats.

Led by Piero Rivolta, the group is responsible for some first class industrial design, especially on the design front. Piero's son, Renzo, is heading up Rivolta Yachts, among other family ventures. After spending a day with Renzo on the Coupe (which measures 38 feet on deck), I walked away with a new attitude about jets.

One of the biggest differences between the Rivolta and other jets I've tested, was the pop-up acceleration. "Here you take it," Renzo said after we got into open water. And take it I did. I wanted to resist using the car analogy in this story, but it certainly applies here. You would expect that a family of designers, with deep experience designing Italian cars would build a boat that not only looks good, but is a blast to drive. "Put her hard over," Renzo said. "No, all the way over." I admit I was timid at first. I know it's part of my job, but I'm always weary of trying to "break" a test boat. Her brut construction made this impossible. I slammed the wheel "hard over" at wide-open throttle and the Rivolta spun in less than a boat length. And the most impressive part is that she only dropped a few knots during the curve and sprinted back up as we came out of the turn. Our test boat was equipped with twin 440 hp Yanmars coupled with UltraJets and we achieved respectable speeds in the mid 30 knot range.

Rivolta is a semi-custom builder and Renzo is willing to work with each customer, within reason. In addition to interior changes, they also offer conventional propellers with the 440 Yanmars. Although I think the 18-inch draft of the jet boat model is another key benefit of jets. Many of you may have seen an ad for a different jet boat company, showing a guy standing in ankle deep water with his dog, looking at his boat lying at anchor. Sure it's a nice picture, but to me the real advantage of a shallow draft is all the places where you can go, not so you can bring your boat closer to your dog. I'm not suggesting you run at speed in shallow areas, but I know from experience that many channels and coves in the Bahamas would be wide open with a jet boat.

Rivolta builds the Coupe on a semi-custom basis and buyers can specify the arrangement. This model features one helm seat and a settee.

A jet does handle differently than a conventional drive boat, and after a few tips from Renzo, I felt comfortable in anticipating the Rivolta���s motion. He then treated me to a show of close water maneuvering. Using the combination of a joystick and bow thruster, Renzo basically parallel parked the Coupe against a seawall. For those of us who are used to conventional transmissions, it will take some getting used to. Although I think after spending some time with Renzo you'll be good to go. And the best part is you'll look like a pro when you approach the dock.

I also think the Rivolta is a fine cruising boat, for anywhere from the Great Lakes to the Bahamas. The equipment, accommodations, and construction do not regulate this jet boat to the day trip and cocktail circuit. Standard equipment highlights include a generator, air conditioning (I appreciated the a/c vents at the helm), wash down, dual Racor fuel filter system, and two pages of top notch equipment.

The helm deck will obviously be the central gathering point, and doubles as the saloon. The layout features two settees and two helm seats. Our test boat had teak decks in this area, as well as the cockpit. Again, you can specify. Thanks to the air conditioning, lounging in this area in the summer or tropics will be pleasurable. I ran the boat in Sarasota in August, and was very cool. In the cockpit, the seating was cleverly designed to allow for a flexible plan and layout.

Below the designers incorporated a forward stateroom, and an aft berth tucked under the helm deck. The aft berth is a little tight, and may just serve as an extension of the lazarette. Although plans are in the works for a Rivolta Coupe 4.5, which will feature a larger second stateroom. All the wood work was well executed.

It's quite possible to teach an old dog like me new tricks, and a Rivolta Coupe is full of nifty tricks. I walked away from my test appreciating not only what Renzo and his father are doing, but how far jet technology has come. That's right the jet age is here to stay and I admit I was wrong back in the early 1990s. For more information, including specs on other Rivolta models contact, The Rivolta Group, (941) 954-0355; www.rivolta.com.