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Once we'd exited the machinery spaces, Young and I discovered there was way more to the 5800's interior than mere elbowroom and savvy engineering particulars. To begin with, natural light was an obvious priority. We stood near the raised helm station—a few steps above the saloon to our rear and the windshield-brightened "Sky Galley" with its adjoining lounge/dinette area some steps below—as Walsh noted, "This boat offers approximately 57 percent more natural light than our previous flagship, the 52." I glanced about, at the electric sunroof overhead, the panorama of doors and windows circumscribing the saloon, and the sunlight streaming down from a Bomar deck hatch into the galley, and nodded at the statistic.
Then there was the solid, Midwestern craftsmanship Tiara's justly known for. As we toured the 5800's below-decks accommodation spaces, with a VIP beyond the galley/dinette area (that has private access to the day/guest head to port) and full-beam master aft (with en suite head and molded-in hull-side windows for extra light), we noted a remarkable level of finish. Decks were finely laid with real teak planks, not artificial ones. Berths were oversize, with cushy innerspring mattresses. Kohler faucets and other plumbing fixtures were classy and robust. Teak joinery was flawless, and solid brand names were everywhere, from the Denon entertainment electronics in the saloon to the Vitrifrigo refrigerator /freezer drawers in the galley.
"All this is great," said Young somewhat impatiently as I counted the scads of lights in the master, "but what about the actual sea trial?"
I grinned at Walsh. I, too, was interested in seeing how the 5800 would perform, especially in dockside maneuvers. After all, I had a fair understanding of how marine engineers got vessels with even numbers of computerized pod drives to walk sideways and do other tricks, but what about an odd number? What about that third, asymmetrical unit?
Dufendach fired up the three engines and then promptly laid the question to rest. When handled dockside, he explained, the central IPS unit would drop out of the picture, so to speak, leaving the two outboard units to run the show. "Check out our wake," he advised, nodding over his shoulder. "And you'll see only two propeller streams at maneuvering speeds, not three."
Once we'd reached Lake Michigan, the wind slackened off and the sea turned pancake flat. With Young holding the clipboard as I stood on a helm seat and rather breezily shot radar-gun speeds out the sunroof (windshields render radar return inaccurate, in my opinion), we recorded a respectable top hop of 38.9 mph. Handling was radical. Whether it was Young (with a smile on his face as wide as the wilds of his native Ontario) or me at the helm, the 5800 swooped into tight, highly banked turns with the vivacity of an after-burning fighter plane. Visibility ahead—and everywhere else, for that matter—was excellent at all running angles. And sound and vibration levels were modest, not only because of the sound-absorbence inherent in a resin-infused, balsa-cored hull (and hand-laid balsa-cored deck), but also because of the big O-ring isolators cushioning our three IPS pods and the soft IPS mounts on the engines.
Dockside maneuvering upon returning to the Yachting Center brought up my only criticism. Backing the 5800 into her slip didn't go as smoothly as I expected. Not that there were any great difficulties—I simply failed to continuously maintain power going astern with the stick, thereby inadvertently causing the drives to center themselves once or twice, a fumble that typically slows rearward progress.
Why the lack of grace? Hmmmmm. I'm a right-handed guy—a very right-handed guy—and all the joystick vessels I've handled dockside over the past couple of years have had either centerline joysticks that facilitated right-handed operation (Tiara's 3900 Sovran, for example) or to-starboard joysticks with helm configurations that still made it possible (Lazarra's LSX Quad 75 comes to mind). That's why I mastered them quickly. And why our test boat's to-starboard arrangement (which, because of the helm chair location, was not amenable to right-hand usage) proved trickier. Sure, Tiara offers an optional joystick in the 5800's cockpit that'll do for right-handed operators as well as accommodating southpaws. But why not go with a standard, centerline setup at the helm that works for both? Or better yet, why not mount the joystick in the helm-chair armrest—right or left, depending on customer preference?
All suggestions aside, though, Tiara's 5800 Sovran is an immense and excellent cruiser. And my overall opinion of her dovetailed nicely with Young's at test day's end. "Based on the way the boat ran and the way she's built," he proclaimed, "I'd have no problem recommending her to anybody!" (See "So You Wanna Test a Boat," this story, for Young's complete assessment.)
Right on, brother.
For more information on Tiara Yachts, including contact information, click here.
SPOTLIGHT ON: Reasonable Facsimile
Although it had a high-tech design partnership going with well-known naval architect Tony Castro on the 5800 Sovran project (and a performance-validation agreement with Donald Blount & Associates as well), Tiara also tweaked the boat's layout via a more low-tech, old-fashioned methodology—company craftspeople built a full-size, precisely correct replica of the 5800’s interior out of plywood and other materials and made sure designers, engineers, and additional interested parties did plenty of walk-throughs before signing off. Shown above is this full-size mock-up. Besides obviating layout glitches and goofiness, it helped employees engineer the big, modular interior module that’s lowered into the 5800’s hull during the building process and secured with electrical, plumbing, and other components that are already installed.—B.P.
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