The Florida was created by lengthening the design of Sebino, with decking of solid Honduras filleted with maple at the seams, with a two-part glass windscreen, with seats and side panels of padded green Vipla and a quilted green fabric sunbed. The instruments were American (S.W./Chris-Craft) with black faces. The side pockets were of chrome-plated brass netting. With the 1953 series the single piece windscreen starts (series production starts in the autumn prior to the year of reference). In 1955 the same modifications as mentioned for the Sebino were adopted (timbers at 16 cm, planking fastened with the aid of adhesives, new steering box, Phillips screws for the bottom and Monel shaft). The upholstery was now of leatherette and Saran with a green tartan pattern. With the 1957 series, the deck was of Honduras ply with maple fillets.

With the 1958 series, Riva was first in the world to use three layer diagonal planking for the hull sides shaped in a single piece. The windscreen was now panoramic of Visaterm glass. The 1959 series presented a new dashboard design that used new instruments (S.W./Chris-Craft) from # 288 of 1958, shaped wood side pockets and upholstery of yellow Vipla and black and white check Saran in place of the green tartan. The sunbed was of yellow Makò fabric. In 1960 the Florida was fitted with the new deep-centre wheel, already fitted to the other models and the fuel tank was now of stainless steel with a capacity of 100 litres instead of 90.

The text ''Florida'' appeared on the dashboard instead of ''Riva Chris-Craft''. From 1960 Phillips screws were also used on all models for fixing the chrome plated deck fittings. In 1961, with the adoption of the new Chris-Craft V8 engine with power reduced from 185 Hp at 4000 rpm to 160 Hp at 3600, the gear lever was moved to the wheel. The electrical system was also changed from 6 volts to 12 volts. The hull bottom was slightly modified at the midship section to soften impact with the wave and the hull was lengthened by 9 cm. The transom was now made of three layer diagonal planking and was curved. An electric siren was now standard. In the 1963 model the rake of the bow was increased by 7 cm and the chrome plated cutwater was 25 cm longer.