Tiara Sovran 3600

If the rise and rise of the sportsyacht is anything to go by, at least some of us are keen to entertain and cruise all year round on a single decker protected by a hardtop, powered by diesel motors with shaft drives instead of high-maintenance legs. While sportscruisers have long been the rage, and sportscruisers with lids or hardtops had their time in the sun last summer, sportsyachts are the next big thing for experienced motorboaters who want seaworthiness for voyaging beyond the big-city marina and Sunday anchorage.

Thus, the launch of Tiara Yachts is a timely one Down Under. One of a few remaining independent, family-owned American boatbuilders, Tiara Yachts built its reputation on bluewater fishing boats, flybridge cruisers and crossover craft designed to assuage both user groups. Based on its success, Tiara has turned its hand to making dedicated sportsyachts called Sovrans that can go places in pursuit of nothing more than on-water adventure, a new anchorage and a fresh frontier.

Tiara's smallest Sovran, the 3600, is a sweetly-styled, single-level cruising and entertaining boat that can rub fenders with the swanky big-city clique, while just as easily waving them goodbye for another coastal or interstate waterway. Underway, this 36-footer feels just like a convertible or flybridge boat sans the top station. It's big, heavy, smooth riding, solid and very surefooted.

Such virtues will endear sportsyachts like those from Tiara to boatowners for whom sportscruisers are too young at heart and flybridge boats are too hard to get around. At the same time, boats like the Tiara Sovran 3600 might appeal to the ex-yachties who are beyond rounding-up crew and tugging on sheets. If not immediately obvious on the outside then there is definitely a traditional feel about this boat down below.

ESTABLISHED MARQUE
Owned and run by the Slicker family, Tiara Yachts doesn't so much bend to fashion as it does fashion boats that have a timeless quality. Like most boatbuilders these days, Tiara uses computer-aided design to help manufacture its layouts. Even despite a hardtop, there is no sense in designing pokiness into the covered saloon or below decks. Measuring 41ft 8in overall including bowsprit and boarding platform, this is a huge 36ft yacht, displacing a massive 10,840kg dry.

However, it's in the construction and engineering departments that this badge is really revered in its native land. The Tiara 3600 Sovran has what could be termed a saltwater build - you can drive the boat through heavy weather, walls of spray and large waves without having to worry about its mettle. By comparison, sportscruisers will seem like toys.

The boat is built to NMMA yacht Certifications, American standards governing ventilation, and CE Certification in Europe. I am relying on the Tiara for much of the following information, but you should consider just how much emphasis it places on the construction and engineering fronts.

The hulls and decks are handlaid with solid GRP below the waterline and balsa-cored sections above, bonded, fastened every 15cm, and capped with a truly heavy-duty PVC and stainless-steel rubrail for no leaks and added strength. The hull derives stiffness from the composite stringer system and the one-piece internal moulded liners and decks.

What you can't see are the in-house designed tinned and colour-coded wiring harnesses in conduits, the custom underwater gear - bronze rudders, Aquamet two-inch shafts and Bennett trim tabs - and tuned three-blade Nibral props. The 3600 is a very smooth boat and great efforts have been made to reduce engine noise. Not only is the 3600 quiet, but ventilation of the engine room, which is all gelcoated, is such that ingress of saltspray or seawater in unlikely.

Double hydraulic rams raise the cockpit sole and give push-button access to the engines. Separate rams open the aft garage where there's plenty of handy storage space. All the hatches are double-moulded using a closed mould system. The engine room lid rests on big rubber mounts to prevent vibration. There is also an access hatch for day-to-day inspection of the donks.

With the lid up, owners can perform perfunctory pre-start engine room checks without making like a yoga master. The sea strainers for the Cummins 5.9 380hp motors were obvious, the reservoirs for the coolant were ahead, and dipsticks are easy to get at. The Kohler 7.5kW generator doesn't have a sound shield.

The boat has a fire-fighting system, internal freshwater tap for cleaning out the engine room, and 240V outlet. The exhausts are a patented underwater Tiara system that further reduces running noise. The modified vee hull has tunnels and vee drives that, with only short shafts, allow for a shorter engine room and more internal volume.

Shorepower leads are supplied, and TV/phone inlets and phone/radio antennas come with the boat, as do three separate house batteries and three engine-start batteries, with a parallel switch at the helm.

The decks are fitted with an excellent non-skid pattern, super heavy-duty cleats, a one-piece bowrail and hatches that include insect and privacy screens. There are both fresh and raw water cockpit deckwashes.

Tankage is generous: 1234lt of fuel in two composite tanks with a six-way fuel valve system; 397lt of water, which is okay for a weekend with four aboard; 150lt holding tank; and a 22lt hot-water tank. To this, you can add a safety kit, medical kit, Tiara life vests, mooring lines and boat hook.

 Tiara's tenet is: turnkey boating. I'm told it even holds matching teak samples of the joinery for each boat it makes just in case repairs need to be affected down the track. That seems incredible.

DANCING ON THE DECKS
This is an easy boat to get around thanks to the moulded steps in the cockpit, the excellent non-skid tread pattern, and the high bowrail and moulded toerails going forward. Back aft, the boat has a huge boarding platform big enough to host a dinner party. The platform scoops water when you come down suddenly off the plane, but as you are unlikely to be chasing fish in reverse consider it a lifestyle asset not a gamefishing liability.

The local agent added a big stainless-steel U-rail for support on the trailing edge of the boarding platform. Tiara had fitted chocks and pad-eyes so you could carry a tender to sea, plus a swim ladder, big oversized cleats and transom doors either side of the garage. Each door had a window so you could see the boarding platform when parking.

The aforementioned aft garage is all rubber-lined and ready to take fenders, fishing gear and perhaps even a barbie when it's not in use. The boat has mostly throughbolted not screwed deck fittings. There is a H/C aft deck shower and the moulded steps make accessing the cockpit a cinch.

The demo boat made good use of its foredeck, but flaunting a central sunpad traced by stainless-steel rails and drinkholders. The moulded bowsprit is an integral part of the hull and the windlass with foot and dash controls comes standard.

I noted non-skid on the hardtop that will make cleaning the boat that much easier, since you can attain good footing when scrubbing the lid. The boat has a wraparound safety-glass windscreen with just the barest of distortion in the corners.

The agent had extended the amount of shade falling over the cockpit seats by adding an aftermarket rear awning to the moulded lid. He also added a budget Navman electronics package, though you could have Raymarine or Furuno or your preference of package at a cost. I'd have radar, too, for all-weather and night cruising.

COCKPIT CAPERS
At factory level, the boat was fitted with an icemaker in the cockpit in lieu of a fridge and cockpit carpet to lessen the wearing on your joints and up the luxury factor some more. The footprint of the cockpit was truly generous, suiting the Australian lifestyle and making for a very convivial boat whether cruising or swinging on the anchor.

There are two distinct areas, but the lower cockpit is the place to kick back at rest. And rest. There's an aft-facing lounge big enough for a couple to port, a single seat behind the amenities centre, and two drop-down rear seats for five people all-up. Alongside the rear seats in the transom there is a fold-down table with drinkholders. All the vinyl upholstery is triple-stitched and mounted on rot-free framing.

The seating under the hardtop includes an L-shaped lounge big enough for up to four people to port that has a backrest so as to double as a chaise lounge, and a chart flat forward for the navigator. The twin seater electrically adjustable helm bench seat has a huge storage below. There's a moulded icebox under the navigator's lounge, and an amenities centre or wetbar separating the lower and upper cockpits, with sink, H/C water and icemaker.

 Under the hardtop, views are great, headroom is lofty and protection from the elements is paramount. There are two opening hatches in the hardtop and a very clever ventilation system that pours fresh-air on the skipper's face.

I also noted red night-lights at the helm, moulded footrests, a big wheel and huge matt-grey moulded dash that hinges forward for direct access to the wiring for the electronics. I noted room for mounting 10in–12in colour screens. The boat was fitted with SmartCraft engine gauges and had a light on its start keys.

Another smart detail was the electrically-opening centre section of windscreen for improved ventilation. Add the overhead hatches and the driver's vent and stuffiness shouldn't be a problem. Three pantograph wipers are included, as are tracks to assist with fitting of the rear mooring covers.

SATIN AND GLOSS
A flyscreen instead of the lockup door can be pulled over the companionway when sleeping aboard in summer. Down below, the interior is more yacht than sport, with traditional satin teak joinery - teak floors, doors and bulkheads. It's a little heavy for my liking, but others who have been around boats will probably like it. There are options of cherrywood and honey ash joinery on some other Tiara models, but not the Sovran 3600.

Stainless-steel trim, lots of trick 12V downlighting and indirect lighting, and soft cream-coloured Ultraleather upholstery add to the austerity of the ambience. There's plenty of headroom and an open layout derived from a retractable teak facia on the forward bulkhead before the master cabin.

The boat's primary switch panel hides under the companionway stairs, with the 12/240V master control panel to port behind teak wall lockers. The boat had a Sharp 15in LCD TV and a Bose Lifestyle 32 entertainment system.

Underfloor I found good access to the carbon filter on the potable water supply, access to the holding tank and plumbing, and the shower sump pump. Reverse cycle air conditioning is on tap and a garbage stowage area is listed in the specs.

The beamy saloon features a three-person settee to port that converts to a lower bunk and a pullman berth above. Opposite is an L-shape lounge around a Birdseye-maple dinette on a supportive pedestal base. It can seat four people or convert to a three-quarter-length double bed. It is possible to sleep six people aboard.

Privacy curtains on tracks partition off the impromptu sleeping areas from the saloon, while natural ventilation comes by way of opening portlights and deck hatches, both of which have privacy covers. The aforesaid sliding teak panel and bi-fold door turns the bow area into a private owner's retreat.

The master cabin is fitted with an oversized island berth with innerspring mattress that will suffer serious sleep-ins, air conditioning, a second LCD TV, plus drawers, shelves and hanging lockers.

The galley to starboard has Corian counters (but without fiddle rails), a stainless-steel sink and spray mixer. I also found a recessed electric two-burner stove, extractor fan, stainless-steel splashback, and microwave oven. There was a small 12V fridge and freezer, plus icebox up top.

 The head to port near the base of the stairs is a moulded capsule with a non-skid floor, headroom and a shower with curtains, plus an extractor fan, vanity with mirror and one of these excellent Vacuflush loos. Even though there wasn't a dedicated shower stall it's a head you can live with for weekends if not a week... or until the modest 397lt of water runs dry.

OCEAN RIDER
The fully electronic Cummins QSM 5.9 380hp motors proved smooth, quiet, responsive and smoke free. They were wired into a switch panel at the helm for push-button engine synchro, low idle, and two preset cruise speeds. I also found a back-up manual throttle in case the electronic shifts shutdown.

Carrying 19 degrees of deep-vee deadrise at the transom, the modified-vee hull seemed very smooth running. The bow is convex and, but raked surprisingly full. It displaced quite a bit of water, however, the water was rolling downwards and not up towards the decks. In any case, the wipers and hardtop are there to keep you dry.

Some spray was sucked indoors from the aforesaid displaced water due to the venturi effect of the helm cabin. This was reduced to a large degree by opening the electric vent in the windscreen and closing the cabin door. Fast or slow, the boat has good vision to all quarters including over the bow for shorties if they use a touch of trim tab down to bring the bow down.

The boat exhibited good holeshot and acceleration to planing speed due to the tunnels and low shaft angle. A low-speed cruise of 15kt was registered at 2100rpm where each motor used near enough to 40lt/h.

Happy cruising ranged from 20–23 knots at 2550–2600rpm where the motors use 52lt/h per side for a 230nm range leaving 10 per cent of the fuel in reserve. This is enough range to jump between most ports of call. Fast cruising was clocked at 24.5kt at 2700rpm for 57.5lt/h per motor and flat out we recorded 27kt against perhaps a knot of tide.

While far from sporty, the handling was in keeping with a shaftdriven boat and the smooth and seaworthy cruise really appealed to me.

I think it will appeal to many other motorboaters, too. I can see the all-weather sportsyacht cutting a swathe across Port Phillip Bay, the SA Gulfs, out from Perth or up in Queensland... no matter where and no matter what the weather and season.


HIGHS