Click for Perko Click for Westport Click for Northern Lights Click for Mulder Click for Abeking

Tiara Sovrans

Discussion in 'Tiara Yacht' started by wotan2020, Sep 4, 2017.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. wotan2020

    wotan2020 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2012
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Long Island Sound
    Did Tiara ever make Sovrans in the 39' to 43' size range with walkthrough windshields like the Formula 37PC or 40PC?
  2. Maxwell

    Maxwell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2010
    Messages:
    194
    Location:
    Door County, WI
    Not that I'm aware of... Along with a bit better build quality, the main reason we bought our 1st Tiara over some of the competition's boats was the width of the walkways. On some others (Formula, Sea Ray etc) they were extremely narrow and had few if any convenient handles for my wife as she was handling lines/fenders.
  3. wotan2020

    wotan2020 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2012
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Long Island Sound
    Thanks, Maxwell. I'm trying to find, I think, a boat that doesn't exist . . . one with the build quality of a Tiara or a Formula that has an all-glass windshield with a walkthrough. Tiaras are fully sealed in up front. Formulas have the walkthrough but are half glass and half canvas up front. The old Cruisers 390 Sports Coupe has an all-glass windshield with a walkthrough but it's a Cruisers. Any suggestions?
  4. 30West

    30West Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2016
    Messages:
    246
    Location:
    Holland, Michigan
    Get the Cruisers, and de-badge it so nobody knows you own a Cruisers.

    Wife and I were looking for a Formula, she used to work at Tiara, we ended up with a sweet deal on a Cruisers. I wasn't sure about Cruisers, but it was a deal I couldn't pass on. Planned on flipping it, but the more I spend time tinkering and recreating on it, the less I want to sell it. I've been out in conditions this boat shouldn't do well in, and it did much better than I expected. Running gear and hardware are pretty much what other makers use, access to everything is as good or better than I've seen on other brands, fit and finish is good. And in 12 years of minimal maintenance, there is nothing wrong with the boat, it just works. I've found a few things I'm unhappy with, but not many and they can be dealt with.
  5. wotan2020

    wotan2020 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2012
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Long Island Sound
    Thanks 30West.
    What are you most unhappy about? And is yours a 390 Sports Coupe or a different model?
  6. 30West

    30West Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2016
    Messages:
    246
    Location:
    Holland, Michigan
    Mine is a 2004 375: aft-cabin flybridge.

    I have a hard time liking that this is a balsa-cored hull. The hull is balsa cored, including below the waterline. Some areas are plywood core, some solid where thru-hulls are installed. I'd of course prefer no coring at all, but apparently they did it well enough there is no moisture in it 12 years later. Still, I'm not a fan of balsa coring, especially below the waterline. Formula cores with a non-absorbent composite, not balsa. I think they use plywood in the transom.

    I will say, this hull is stiff. I spent two ten-hour days into 3-5' close-spaced (5-second, fresh water) waves, some much bigger, on a slow plane. I occasionally messed up and slapped a wave pretty good or speared through it, and there wasn't a lot of vibration I expected. It felt solid. The whole idea of lightweight coring is to give a light-weight and rigid hull, Cruisers believes in it and seems to do it well. Maybe water will never get into the coring anywhere, hulls don't generally just leak, usually it is a modification or damage that lets water in somewhere. Apparently the coring is gridded off, so water can't travel far if it does get in somewhere. Still, the balsa coring bugs me.

    I spend a lot of time on Cruisers Yachts forums, I don't hear a lot of complaints about the boats themselves. Most talk is about engines, electronics, bottom paint, normal boat stuff not specific to Cruisers. When I bought this boat I was amazed at how well it has held up, especially the interior. I spent a lot of years cleaning and maintaining boats, and expected a lot more wear. They use quality materials and methods, and pretty standard running gear. Engines offered are not heavy-duty commercial engines, same as Tiara or Sea Ray, and some diesels are too small for the boat. If you are going to put diesel engines in a boat, make them commercial quality, but nobody does in this size range.

    This is not a premium boat, it is a boat for the masses, but better than Sea Ray in my estimation. Less quality than Tiara perhaps, but I know of one Tiara owner repairing saturated stringers. It is not a rough weather boat, there is no flare to the bow, it is a planing hull with a bulbous bow to maximize interior space. It is a pleasure boat, and I'm realizing that is all I'll use it for. It is safe in rough seas if I'm surprised by them, not as comfortable as a trawler this size in rough seas perhaps, but safe, it will get me to shelter.

    I'm making the choice to stick with this boat because it really does everything I want, at half the price I budgeted, and that is what these boats are built for.