MANAGING PERFECTION ~ BARN FIND RIVA
This is the THIRD update about our “over-the-top” restoration of an extraordinary Italian Riva speedboat christened Perlita Too.
Perlita arrived in Hollywood in 1953, ordered from the factory in Italy by Film Producer Roland Reed, after he had been impressed by a Riva on a boat show stand in Milan. Mr. Riva still has some of the original correspondence from Roland Reed, which he showed us when we visited him in Italy some years ago. This is Perlita Too arriving in LA in a special wooden crate; Roland Reed in the foreground grinning like a Cheshire cat 
Here Perlita is being christened with a bottle of Champagne by actress and long time companion, and business associate of Roland Reed, Dian Fauntelle.
With provenance like this, the restoration needs to be PERFECT! I asked my Design Partner, James Ferris, to continue:
JAMES: It comes down to striving for “perfection”; taking each category and looking for the very best craftsman, restorer or fabricator in their field, to commit to our project. A couple of weeks ago I took all the chrome hardware to Richard Frisch, at Queen City Plating in Seattle. I had selected Queen City Plating about a year ago, after reviewing at least half a dozen plating companies around the US. Richard was feeling pretty good when I arrived, as on the weekend prior, his client Robert Lee of Reno had won Best in Show at Pebble Beach, with his 1935 HORCH 835 Cabriolet. Richard and his team at Queen City Plating had restored all the chrome, and believe me, there was a lot of it!
JAMES: My first step was to catalog & organize all the pieces. I have found (the hard way!) that the more organized I am, the better the final product will be, and with every piece identified it reduces the possibility for misunderstandings.
When I returned the following week, Richard had already inventoried the pieces and stripped the old plating from them; lining them up according to need, ready for the initial steps of metal finishing.
This is the first of many steps in the metal finishing process prior to the final layer of chrome plating. Some pieces may require two or even three copper plating and polishing steps before the final chrome plating.
As you might expect, the chrome plating process involves many potentially hazardous materials (many plating companies have had to close because they couldn’t meet EPA standards). Queen City Plating, started in 1923 has taken a proactive stance, and created a massive and complex water filtration system which recycles all of the water used in the many steps in plating. The toxic metals are separated out and compressed in a special filtration/compression device. The remaining waste materials are collected regularly and sent to an approved disposal facility.
JAMES: I have discussed finish options with Richard extensively, and specified a variety of plating finishes including yellow zinc, copper, and nickel chrome. Based on the results they achieved for the Pebble Beach winner, I am anticipating something as close to PERFECT as is possible
CASUDI: A restoration like this has multiple tracks, quite similar to a major house renovation, or cooking a complex recipe, so keeping things coordinated to insure that everything is ready when required, can be quite a balancing act. Just like cooking the perfect banquet!
Categories like the wood working of the hull (stay tuned), or the engine restoration, get started almost immediately. That was in Fall of 2007. The engine is nearing completion, and the hull is making good progress; however, one may have to wait for some things, like getting the moisture content in the wood planking just right (just as in a recipe you might have to chill an ingredient overnight The chrome is definitely the ‘frosting on the cake’, and it will be done before year end. We’ll put that in the ‘freezer’ until final assembly, hopefully well before the big Lake Tahoe boat show.
Next on the agenda is a discussion of the ins and outs of making our own upholstery fabric…….
For previous updates please see Barn Find Riva (Summer 2008 ) and Essence of Italian Design (August 2009).
Comments, suggestions or discussion; please comment below, or email James directly at idesign@esse-group.com.
Caroline Di Diego
@CASUDI
www.inclinedesign.info
INCLINED TO DESIGN
September 8th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Looking good! The larger whole is broken down into smaller sub-assemblies, which are then broken down into smaller units still. Specialists are either assigned the related tasks or, as I suspect might be more the case with this project, request the privilege of delivering the quality goods.
Sounds like James is ensuring everyone involved is as passionate about the final product as he is. This is the difference between a commitment and a goal and that’s the difference between acceptable and jaw-dropping results.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
This is more interesting every time I read about it. Did you know there is a wood boat show in Port Townsend this coming weekend? I heard about it from another client at the store. I will not be there but thought you would be interested. Thanks for sharing your project. Connie
September 11th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Brian, this is a really fabulous comment. I am sure James will have something to say when he gets back after completing another riveting experience this week.
You are right, all the people working on the project, want to contribute and do the very best job they can. On every project including residence renovations we like to include and thank the people that do the work; in the back offices, in the workshops or studios and not only the owners of the companies or businesses. Earlier today I spoke with Tina who is in the front office at Queen City Plating and she told me that their owner, Richard Frisch had printed out my post and given it to all the guys working on Perlita’s plating to read while they ate lunch. Needless to say they loved the direct acknowledgment of them and the company they work for. So many times the actual people who do the work that make us as designers or restorers shine, go forgotten. This is one of the hidden or maybe not so hidden purposes of our doing this series of Blog posts covering our over-the-top Riva speedboat restoration project.
And YES, Connie, I did know about the boat show this weekend. I captured this image around sunrise of an old classic boat heading down the San Juan Channel in the direction of Port Townsend. Maybe it will be us on Perlita this time next year.
July 28th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
[...] is king. I wrote two posts on the subject last year: “Essence of Italian Design” and “Managing Perfection”, which morphed into my partner James’s blog PERLITA TOO ~ The [...]