Drawing Board: Tiara EX 60
Tiara EX 60
The 60-footer gives Tiara a bigger canvas to incorporate their signature modular seating, transformative decks and versatile day boat philosophy.
The Miami boat show hasn’t even hit its stride and already there’s breaking news on the docks. Tiara Yachts, which has primarily focused on boats that fall within the 34- to 53-foot range, has just announced a whopper: the debut of an inboard-powered EX 60. (EX, which stands for express, expedition, excursion … and maybe even excitement.) This flagship heralds a new focus for the Holland, Michigan manufacturer, previously branded as S2 Yachts with two lines—Tiara and Tiara Sports—to differentiate its inboard and outboard offerings.
In hindsight, the consolidation to the more regal-sounding Tiara Yachts makes even more sense following this announcement, as the scrappy, performance-minded day boat builder looks to punch way above its weight class. When it’s completed sometime in the fall of 2022, the EX 60, paired with the latest Volvo and Garmin technology, will be their largest yacht to date. And far from the last, as its launch will pave the way for larger yachts to follow.
“Anytime you get the opportunity to create from scratch it’s both exciting and it’s also a little unnerving,” said Tom Slikkers, CEO and president of Tiara Yachts. “Most people like to replicate and do things that they have known success for.”
Tiara EX 60
Have a closer look in the gallery below:
Luckily, for boaters and marine journalists, that timidness is nowhere to be found in the lower peninsula. The EX 60 blends the proven success of the builder’s outboard LS and inboard coupe lines, building on their day boat experience with the comfort and luxury of liveboard accommodations. Below deck, three cabins will be able to accommodate six adults, while two private heads can provide additional convenience. Owners and guests can make their way to the expansive forward bow area with its conspicuously large sunpad by walking along the wide sidedecks or through a pilothouse door accessed via the starboard-side helm. “The pilothouse door is not only for helming, safety and communication, but it really just opens up another avenue for free movement throughout the yacht,” said Tiara’s Design Director Andrew Bartlett.
However, in this headlong drive to break new ground, Tiara is no way ditching the best practices developed in their smaller offerings. Which leads me to ask: Is a Tiara really a Tiara without the modular seating and transformative decks? The design team doesn’t think so either. “We have that expectation from the marketplace to provide a level of flexibility and transformation in all of our products,” said Bartlett. “And this is a big canvas, right? A 17-foot beam, 60-foot-long boat. And that gives us even more to work with when developing that modularity and alternative layouts.”
While laterally opening gunwales make a lot of sense on the 48-foot LS—an innovation that capitalizes on every available inch of extra space while at anchor or mooring—on the EX 60, they will be positively massive. To take advantage of the aft cockpit area, Bartlett and his team have given owners four unique layout options to choose from: Forward and Aft Facing Seat, Breakfast Bar, Lounge and Adventure. (And even within those choices, there are options, such as icemakers and appliances.) “We’re going to be able to cover the casual fisherman all the way through a highly social layout,” said Bartlett. “And from my perspective, we win if they’re all equally popular.”
Continuing Tiara’s longstanding partnership with Volvo Penta, the EX 60 will be powered by either twin 1,200-hp or 1,350-hp IPS30s. Outfitted with the latter option, the company projects the 60 to have a top end of approximately 36 knots. Tiara is also deeply committed to reducing NVH—noise, vibration and harshness—while underway and at anchor. To reduce noise, the in-house naval architects designed the yacht so that the air-conditioning systems and water pumps live in an aft compartment, isolating them away from the helm and cabins. Such innovation seems to infuse the entire product.
In 2005, right before the Great Recession was in full-swing, Tiara spent at least $14 million in the creation of 300,000-square-feet of added production capacity—including a new lamination and technical center—at their existing facilities in Holland. Frankly, the unfortunate timing should’ve sunk them. But they rebounded, building out a line of fast, versatile day boats with outboard and inboard propulsion. Now they’re uniquely situated to capitalize on that expansion, with the chance to cement themselves as one of the biggest powerplayers in U.S. boatbuilding.
In regards to the next boat in lineup, Tiara plans to pay attention to the marketplace and watch where the market pulls them. “It could be larger, but I think we’ll also populate below EX 60 into a line of boats that really cover us from 50 to 60 feet,” said Bartlett. If the 60 and the previous models are any indication, Tiara will be pumping them out in no time.
“This is really uncharted in some ways, for this particular design, as we blend elements that we know are proven in our outboard line and take portions we’ve learned from the inboard models,” said Slikkers. “We’ve worked to accommodate the cruising proficiency and mix that with day boating, raising the bar about who we are and what we do all at the same time.”
Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/drawing-board-tiara-ex-60
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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/drawing-board-tiara-ex-60
