Belize 54 Sedan: Comfort, Performance, and Style
The Belize 54 Sedan epitomizes luxury cruising with a spacious, carefully thought out layout that maximizes comfort, facilitates entertaining, and is extremely family friendly—but with a high-performance hull.
From the earliest moments of its design phase the Belize 54 Sedan was destined to go far beyond the expectations of the average motor yachts in its class. Why? Two words: Wesley Moxley. The CEO of Riviera has a passion for building great boats, which led him to Belize—the boat, not the place. The result of Moxley's highly experienced input is a new running surface that’s ideal for the seasoned boater as well as for owners new to cruising. For this group, they made the boat as straightforward as possible, despite the fact that the Raymarine helm would look equally comfortable on a commercial aircraft. The high-tech electronics of the helm are accented by the controls for the Zeus pod drives which manage twin Cummins powerplants.
Performance is a high-point aboard the Belize 54 Sedan, though its speed doesn't leave comfort behind.
The hull design process began on the drawing boards at Ocean Yacht Designs and was next refined to match the engines by in-house naval architects at Cummins. The hull then went on to tank testing at the Australian Maritime College; its warped plane features a sharp entry with a robust flare that diminishes until it becomes fairly flat aft, resulting in an extremely stable ride. The boat tops out at 32 knots with a 28 knot cruise speed and the Zeus's intuitive joystick control allows 360-degree maneuvering, making docking a breeze even by those new to larger boats.
When we first heard about the 54 Sedan's "one continuous level of luxury with everything at hand" it sounded like a good idea, even if it also sounded like the marketing department went a bit overboard. But it isn't until one steps aboard that you realize just how functional it is to have the saloon, dining, bar, galley, and helm in one over-sized area with virtually unobstructed sightlines, to bring together those aboard. This is a truly social setting, made even better by a sunroof with e-glass that reduces heat and glare during the hot months and features a thermal blind underneath for keeping the sedan warm in cooler climes.
On the Belize 54, the concept is to maximize natural light streaming into the saloon.
Dim the lights at night, and the saloon become an intimate home theater featuring a 46" pop-up flat-screen TV and a three-in-one table. This coffee table and dinette (when the sides are flipped down) also functions as breakfront-style stowage for table and glassware.
Below deck there’s a full-beam midship master stateroom with an eight-inch-thick queen size mattress, a 24" TV/DVD and a plush sitting area. There’s plenty of stowage as well in the form of dual cedar-lined hanging lockers and drawers to port and starboard. The master suite isn't just airy in terms of space, either; a 16,000 BTU HVAC system provides climate control and opening ports are provided for when you prefer natural cross-ventilation.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Length | 54'01" |
| Beam | 16'6" |
| Draft | 3'6" |
| Deadrise | 12 degrees |
| Displacement | 40,785 lbs |
| Fuel capacity | 634 gal. |
| Water capacity | 184 gal. |
Most boat reviews would stop at this point after mentioning an outdoorsy item like the wide sunpad on the bow. Not so with the Sedan 54. We have to keep going, because the transom is an additional maritime environment. An electric BBQ and sink turn the swim platform into a "teak beach" entertaining area. The platforms’ center raises and lowers hydraulically, even though there’s also a tender garage with a swing-up door, which can accommodate a 9.8' tender and integral electric winch. Usually you get the garage or the elevating platform, but rarely do you get both on a boat of this size—again exceeding the expectations set by most competing motor yachts in this class. Thanks, Wesley.
Other Choices: For starters, see the 54 in its earlier incarnation as the Belize 52. Then take a look at another red-hot new motor yacht with similarly zippy performance figures and pod-power, the Tiara 50 Coupe. Finally, check out the popular Sea Ray 510 Sundancer.
For more information, visit Belize Motoryachts.
Go directly to Belize listings.
