The October winds off Lake Michigan delivered a refreshing chill. Chicago beckoned from ahead as the Tiara EX 60 chugged at a steady 21 knots into a 3-foot chop. It’s a site that operators of tugboats and cargo ships have soaked up for decades as they maneuver toward the mouth of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. We were on a leg of the delivery of Tiara’s EX 60—the builder’s largest boat to date—from Holland, Michigan, to Florida.
This was a trip not without challenges, including weather. The forecast for our original departure date called for seas near 20-feet and gale-force winds. I boarded the boat in the dark, so I couldn’t fully appreciate the strong profile or high bulwarks of the builder’s flagship. I could, however, appreciate the unbelievable amount of stowage the boat possessed as I helped to put away K-Cups, deli meats, drinks and everything else a hungry crew could want. The crew and I joked at how every nook and cranny of the boat was filled with snacks, but truthfully, helping stow supplies left me with a respect for how this boat is designed to give every inch of possible space back to the owner.
I was also impressed with how incredibly comfortable the salon settee was as we idled toward the starless blackness of Lake Michigan. The initial plan was to run the 60 diagonally across the heart of the lake in a direct route to Chicago for a photo shoot. But after 10- to 15-minutes of pounding through tightly packed 5- to 7-footers it became obvious: The boat was up for the challenge, but the crew, not so much. We pivoted and instead ran down the coast. Despite hours of abuse from the wind and short-period swells, there was only one failure aboard: A single, stubborn drawer refused to stay locked. A piece of tape solved the issue until a longer latch screw could be sourced.
The sunrise behind towering dunes on the shoreline brought welcome relief. Being able to really see the seas ahead of the boat offered me a sense of equilibrium.
The 60 has room for four adults in two bench seats to take in the view forward. Capt. Tony Gillis and his wife, Mary, sat behind the helm to starboard and I stretched out on the seat to port and let my mind wander while occasionally swiping at the MFD before me. I thought back to a summer afternoon when I tested the builder’s 43 LE on this lake a few years prior and seared the soles of my feet on a hike up the dunes. This was a different kind of day and a different kind of boat.
Occasionally, when a builder launches its biggest boat to date, you are left with a feeling that it was designed to be bigger for the sake of being bigger. Not so on the 60. It’s beefy, but somehow maintains the aesthetic that I admired on the 43. With the windows and sunroof open and the fold-down gunwales deployed, the connection to the water feels similar in some ways to Tiara’s center consoles and certainly its smaller express boats. And yet on this cold day in October, I was thankful for the option to be in climate-controlled bliss.
As the day began to defrost and the seas lost a bit of their bite, we fell into a comfortable 21-knot cruise. The fasten seatbelt sign was off and we were free to move about the cabin. Grabbing some fresh air in what I would call the upper cockpit, I stared at our wake for a while and imagined owning this boat and taking it to a quiet cove. In my mind, this is every bit a multi-generational family space. Fold down the massive gunwales and you can watch kids jump and swim the day away. At the lower cockpit table, you can have eight or more enjoying lunch while avoiding the splash zone. My favorite feature is a high-low table with loose furniture that would be the perfect spot for coffee at sunrise. In the afternoon, you could lower the TV, raise the table to bar height and enjoy a cold beverage.
Throughout the cockpit, salon and side decks, Tiara employs a synthetic teak from Teakdecking Systems that feels nice underfoot and gives the yacht a sophisticated look; it really is amazing how far faux teak has come in recent years. On the maintenance side, I’m told one coat of sealant a year will keep it protected.
Making our final approach to the Windy City, I was able to catch back up with Tiara’s Manager for New Product Development, Chris Caropepe, whom I’d had the chance to meet along with his two sons on a previous Lake Michigan adventure. Caropepe carefully oversaw every stage of the 60’s development and boasts unmistakable pride in the new flagship. With the roughest stretch of the journey presumably in our wake, I watched him breathe a sigh of relief as he opened up about what it was like to see this model take shape from concept to fruition.
“Our owner group came to us with a list. They wanted a boat that’s uniquely Tiara, with big water capabilities and attention to noise, vibration and harshness,” Caropepe said. “It’s got to be fast. It’s got to be nimble. So, we took all of that into account. At the same time our Coupe series had had quite a life. We’re becoming known for our opens, right? That was our bread-and-butter boat for years and years. So we said, how do we blend those together to make what might be the next member of the family?”
According to Caropepe, Tiara took everything it learned from building the Coupe series and outboard boats and melded it into this new Adventure series. “The lines between indoor and outdoor space are a big part of that,” he said. “You can see that in the flooring we’ve used and how we’ve opened it all up. We even got rid of any low-hanging cabinetry to bring the outdoors in. And yet you can still close off from the elements with climate control and be comfortable.”
We pulled into a lock before entering downtown Chicago. Skyscrapers cast a shadow on us and the motley crew of a 30-something-foot sailboat that shared the lock with our boat. I polished off a blueberry muffin while watching the sailors in their layers and foul-weather gear. They’d clearly just had an adventure. I guess the point of the Tiara 60 is that you can have an adventure and remain comfortable. I was happy to be on this boat.
As we entered the city proper, we looked for a spot where Sales and Marketing Specialist Alex Slikkers and I could jump off and grab some photos and video of the boat. Thanks to a brave captain and IPS propulsion, we were able to saddle up to the seawall, where we climbed over a railing. Thankful to really stretch my legs, we ran from one side of the river to another looking for vantage points. From these angles I could now fully appreciate the 60’s aesthetics. She is indeed instantly recognizable as a Tiara but just seems bigger in every way. —Dan Harding
LOA: 60’3”
Beam: 16’11”
Draft: 4’0”
Displ.: 53,350 lb.
Fuel: 700 gal.
Water: 150 gal.
Cruise: 26 knots
Top: 38 knots
Power: (2) 1,000-hp Volvo Penta 1350s
This story originally appeared in the February 2023 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine. This article was published in the April 2023 issue of Soundings.
