We've
always liked Tiara and Pursuit boats, both products of S2 Yachts of
Holland, Michigan. In times past we've recommended them as good, solid
quality, well-designed boats that are a bit more utilitarian than glitzy.
The kind of boat that holds up well to year 'round use under the blazing
Florida sun, as well as the five month monsoon season that can dump
80" of rain on your boat annually.
One of the things
I've always liked about them was how they restrained themselves from
loading their boats up with cheap hardware and other gratuitous junk
just to give you the appearance of getting more. No plastic hardware
to turn black with mildew, or to disintegrate from sunlight. No die
cast zinc alloy or crummy aluminum.
Naturally, as surveyors,
our primary business is with used boats, so we are usually several years
behind the times on new models. Thus, it was several years ago that
we began to notice a change in Tiara. For one thing, they started making
an appeal to the high end sport fishing market. Whereas boats like the
3600 Open had rather plane-Jane cockpits, now we started seeing things
like built in bait wells, tackle centers, rod storage lockers, Rybovich
style hull vents and all those kind of goodies. Keeping up with the
sport fishing Joneses as it were.
But the sport fishing
market is a rather limited one, and so Tiara has wisely taken their
"open" line of models and created both dedicated fishermen
and cruisers. The primary difference of the two being the amount of
seating and lack of obstructions in the cockpit areas for the fishermen.
Most recently we
were assigned the task of looking over three brand new Tiaras. Now we
get to see up close and personal what we'd previously been seeing only
from a distance. Without question, Tiara has raised the quality a notch
or two. Which, of course, means that the price tag has gone up along
with it. That should go without saying. Want good? Gotta pay for it.
We can say without reservation that, for the price, what you are getting
is not a snow job, not some marketing ploy to sell you something that
looks good today, but turns to dust tomorrow. No, these boats have some
bone deep quality in them.
First off, we got
to compare the 35 Open with the 4100. As is common in the industry,
the overall quality tends to go up with the size and price of the boat,
and that is clearly the case here. With the 4300 Open, Tiara is clearly
taking a shot at Viking and Hatteras, with all the latest design, quality
and style features to match. As for Hatteras, they seem too busy with
their mega yacht business to bother with the little guys. Can't remember
when we last looked at a late model under 50 feet.
The interior of
the 4300 is a real eye-catcher. Done out all in teak (Gasp! Dark wood!)
it is positively scrumptious. I wish a picture could tell the story,
but it really can't. The last time we raved about quality wood work
was on the 1997 Viking 43 SF which had less of it, but better overall
quality. Frankly, I'm glad to see teak interiors making a come back.
Why? For one thing, it is durable. If you screw it all up, the finish
can be restored. Not so with light color woods like ash, oak and maple
that get permanently stained.
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The
4300 Open. No pretense at luxury here, it looks better live
than this photo. |
Up north, where the
sun doesn't shine that much, dark interiors are understandably unpopular.
But here in the tropics, sunny days can get just as boring -- not to mention
the blinding light, heat and carcinoma that it causes -- so popping down
into your deep dark abode immediately renders a sense of soothing coolness,
away from the glare and shutting out the rest of the world. If you like
that sort of atmosphere, you'll love this one. And it is decidedly masculine.
No red or green leather and brass, but you can get teal. Close enough.
Spittoons and cigar clippers are optional, for those of you who defy convention
and love your Monte Chistos and La Habanas. Easy clean vinyl headliner
if you're into the soothing effects of tobacco.
With the 4300, start
with a beveled edge, tongue-and-groove teak planked sole with holly stepping.
Not the most practical design in terms of keeping dirt out of the cracks,
but boy it sure looks great. The sculptured effect is immediately obvious
and exudes an amazing sense of quality. Then we've got a fold up dinette
table with round, solid teak edge banding a good 2" thick with 180
degree round over; joiner work is first class.
The 3500 had a limed
ash or oak interior that was nice, but the veneers weren't the best, nor
was the joiner work really great. There were cabinets and drawers veneer
faced with veneer edge banding that left very hard corners and a failure
to give the impression of great workmanship. Nice, but not impressive
to those who recognize quality; the finish on the wood was also thin.
Contrasting this with the 4300, where we find a lot more rounding, the
finish is obviously well done. So what's the big deal with rounding? Well,
for one thing square is cheaper to make than round. Secondly, I'd much
rather bump into a rounded corner than a sharp one. I got enough scars
on my body. But the finish on the woods is clearly better than the 3500,
giving the impression (whether it is or not) of overall higher quality
and better workmanship.
The overall design,
selection of materials and color scheme is superb. Everything is mute
without appearing dull. Color freaks won't care for this, but when it
comes to a yacht, it's foolish to stray into the realm of the trendy or
flashy. Gotta think about resale; if it's loud, it gets hard to sell when
the flavor of the day constantly changes. The color schemes used here
are timeless and will not go out of style. Call it subdued good taste.
Smart money stays conservative. Moreover, the use of foam padded vinyl
is kept to a merciful minimum and you're new Tiara won't smell like like
a vinyl factory; instead, it smells like wood.
Full, fiberglass
liners make our day for the head compartments, with hose-down ease of
cleaning on the smaller models, stall showers on the larger. While the
galley on the 3500 resembles more closely a sandwich board, on the 37
and up, they're darn nice, although having wood cabinets directly above
a pot of boiling water doesn't make good sense. Yet in all models, the
amount of storage space is more than adequate, plus sensibly designed
with spaces to store pots as well as dishes without any contortionist
exercises.
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| The
trained eye can't fail but to notice the detail work on this hatch
cover. Have you had enough of glued-on insulation falling off?
That's not going to happen with this one. |
Even
though a bit too much is crammed into this 3500 engine compartment,
it's hard not to be impressed by the high quality detail work,
starting with fluorescent lighting and the deep hatch gutters
to keep water out. |
As a true sport fisherman,
both the 35 and 43 flunk the test by virtue of cockpits compromised for
the cocktail crowd. There is altogether too much upholstery and obstructions
for those who are going to give a cockpit a lot of hard use. Some of this
glitz is optional, so you'll need to check on how much can be eliminated
from the show models. On the 35, the large, L-shaped settee at forward
cockpit creates a serious traffic bottle neck, leaving only a 14"
wide walk thru. Along with a hinged, pneumatically operated rear seat,
there are too many obstructions. For sports-minded people, for the outdoorsy
types, the last thing you want is clutter in the cockpit; that's for the
cocktail cruisers where seating a lot of people is the primary requirement.
On attention to design
detail, we're getting close to as good as it gets. I'm talking about things
like:
- Whether salt water
is going to leak all over your engines and machinery when you go to
sea. Or when you hit the deck with a hose to wash it. Take a look at
the hatch design detail in the nearby photo. A hatch like that probably
costs 4X what the run of the mill hatch would cost. Notice that the
insulation is not just glued on so that it's going to fall off in a
few years. And that you can take the underliner off in order to replace
the insulation when it gets all tore up, as it inevitably will.
- Hatch gutters:
The gutters on the electrically lifted large hatch section are very
large and deep. The drains are 2" diameter so they won't clog up
easily. Know what happens when an improperly designed drainage system
gets clogged up? Yep, the water overflows and onto tens of thousands
of dollars worth of machinery. If you wonder why we ridicule bad design,
that's it.
- Details like the
hatch and cabinet doors are thru-bolted, not screwed into fiberglass.
- Details like the
transom door hinges are double thick stainless with an adequately constructed
jamb so the whole arrangement isn't going to break apart from the tremendous
leverage applied by the door.
- Details like proper
rounding of fiberglass moldings so they don't fracture at sharp angles.
- Details like gaskets
and strong dogs on all hatches.
- Overall better
quality hardware.
- A properly constructed
hull/deck joint and rub rails so that 5 years from the time you write
the check, the side of your boat doesn't look like it went through a
hurricane
- Strong windshields
with base gutters to drain off the inevitable leakage.
- Well laid out
electric panels. Various other switches and panels aren't scattered
all over the place. For example, on one new boat we recently looked
at, we found electrical controls in five different locations, taking
a good hour just to figure out where things were and how they operated.
On these boats, everything is instantly clear; never spent more than
a minute looking for a switch.
The day prior to
writing this, I did a survey on a 36 footer that had the electric panel
crunched between the helm and the cabin side, literally at floor level.
Had to get on my hands and knees to operate a switch. How on earth could
anyone tolerate such a thing, I wondered. I mean, is it someone's idea
of great fun to have to stand on your head to read a volt meter or throw
a switch? Talk about a designer with his head up his ass. Where
are the panels on a Tiara? At eye level where they should be.
I could go on and
on, but you get the picture. Real quality is not only in materials but
in the design details, all of which make ownership and operation of the
vessel far 6easier and less costly, often requiring you pay for things
once, rather than twice or three times.
The engine compartments
on all the Tiaras were something of a let down. Not that they're not loaded
with good quality stuff, but like a Sea Ray, not much thought was given
to how anyone is going to reach a lot of stuff for repair or service.
If you're a do-it-yourselfer, this has got to give you a pause for consideration.
Even with the opening full deck section, things are still hard to reach,
yet it's hard not to be impressed with the quality.
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| The
down side on the smaller models. Some engine compartments that
can be pretty cramped. It's extremely hard to reach anything.
That's the transmission down there. |
As you can see in
the photo above, there's a nice, easy-clean glass headliner, along with
fluorescent lighting so at least you can see what you're doing. The problem
is simply too much in too small a space. You got your nice big cabin and
cockpit, but this is the price you pay for that.
But you'll find other
great features like the cabin door on really good rollers and also with
a sliding screen. Both slide as easy as can be. And the electrically opened
center windshield is another nice feature. So too is the manner in which
the Bimini top is fitted to the windshield; it has only an 8" high
eisenglass zippered section that is easy to open to let the air through.
Neat.
I also like the heavily
rounded toe rails with at least a 4" radius. Not only does this look
good, but it makes the gunwale stronger and much less prone to stress
cracking when you really bang against a piling.
Another real strong
point is the ergonomics of the helm which I found superb, particularly
with an electrically operated helm seat. Of course, this is just another
electric gizmo to crap out on you, but like electric seats in a car, it
is a nice feature. However, if you like to sit and steer with your hands,
forget it. This is one for sitting back and steering with your feet, which
is my usual method.
One thing Tiara did
that is a real head scratcher is that they made the deck up under the
windshield black. I don't think I need explain why that is not good for
a variety of reasons.
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| The
helm designs are generally superb. This is the 3500 with a power
seat. |
Easy boarding. Some
of the cockpit designs we've seen lately are truly atrocious. It's hard
to image that a designer figures that you could tolerate only boarding
over the transom, or having to climb all over the upholstered seating
-- or worse yet -- walking across a wet bar. But they do. The 3500 has
a built-in step each side, which is completely out of the way so you don't
get to trip over it, and immediately behind the arch where there is a
handy grab rail. And with that pointed diamond non-skid pattern, there's
no chance of slipping and getting your bones rearranged. Even Grandma
could board with relative ease. But, if you like to mimic the Europeans,
who apparently don't have many docks, she's got a 30" wide platform
that is removable. It looks like it's integral, but it's not.
Aside from the upholstery,
there isn't much in the cockpit area to go to rot and ruin. The little
wet bar has a heavily rounded, deep lid with no steel hardware and not
much else. Apparently Tiara designers know that salt water comes cascading
over the bow to frequently douse the cockpit with that wonderfully corrosive
fluid. If stuff can't withstand salt water, it shouldn't be on a boat.
In this case, it isn't. Plus you may think that the windshield is ungainly
high -- would you like to have a nice, sleek, low Euro style windshield.
Well, just keep in mind that the high windshield keeps salt spray off
most of your goodies at the helm. Euro style is great in the showroom
but it sucks canal water in out here in the real world.
Summing
Up
Clearly Tiara is
taking a run at being the quality leader. Equally clear is that they're
getting close, particularly with the smaller models. In the forty foot
range, the engine rooms are a bit of a disappointment and don't measure
up to Hatteras or Viking, the later of which has the best machinery installations
of any production builder.
If you're not an
aficionado, this won't much matter to you. But for today's yachtsmen,
a well designed and gleaming machinery space ranks just as high as the
exterior appearance, a throwback to our early days of hot-rodding and
chrome plating everything. Half the fun of ownership is show-and-tell,
like cruising the burger stand on Friday night and opening your hood for
all to see. Hey, buddy, whatcha got in there? My Awlgripped, chrome plated
8V92, turbocharged, after burner Dee Twa Diesels, man. The ones with the
250 cc injectors, man. Good for one weeks fishin' and then rebuild 'em.
Divorced the wife, bought a boat. A hot rod boat, that is. And why the
heck not? Nobody makes a car these days anyone could have an ounce of
pride in owning. They're all the same plastic junk. Not even a spot of
chrome left on a Jaguar, for God's sake.
It's an injection
molded, throw-away, plastic world out there folks. Boats like these represent
the last of the world of quality and pride in ownership in something that
is mass produced. For those who can afford it.
For the time being,
for production builders who turn out a lot of boats, I'll give Tiara the
number two spot behind Viking.
See ya at Walker's,
chum. Wanna race?
Posted May 20, 1999
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