Boat test for the 2006 Tiara 3900 Sovran including boat specifications, photo galleries, boat videos, boat layout diagrams, boat test numbers, boat test results, and boat speed graphs. Also includes pricing, engine test reviews, ratings, standard features, and gear for the 2006 Tiara 3900 Sovran.

"My son's eight years old," suggested Lakeside employee Brian McCune, catching fire with the concept. "Lemme make a phone call."

While awaiting Donnie McCune's arrival, I discovered a raft of nifty features onboard the Sovran, the niftiest of the lot being a midcabin area Tiara calls "The Theatre." Not only is the place lofty (with 4'5" sitting/stooping headroom), open to the bright, spacious saloon, and easy to enter, it's arranged in an exceptionally useable way, with two comfy, longitudinally configured sofas on either side (upholstered with French-stitched Ultraleather), a Majestic LCD TV solidly mounted in the aft bulkhead, and a Denon Surround Sound system nearby to add auditory pizzazz to your viewing pleasure. The existence of the theatre is attributable to the space savings compact IPS units engender.

Craftsmanship was another biggie. While the Sovran offers a conventional express-style interior layout with an island berth forward, head (with shower stall) and midcabin area aft, and saloon (with galley) in between, installation and finish is special. Drawers, for example, are crafted of solid, half-inch-thick oak with expertly dovetailed corners. The saloon sole is paved with real teak planks and holly strips—not imitation. And the aviation-style doors on the overhead cabinets in the saloon are fitted with high-end Blum articulated hinges, SpringLift gas shocks, and Lamp latches.

The engine room was the kicker. I entered after pushing a dashboard rocker that lifted an immense electro-hydraulically actuated cockpit hatch. It was cavernous, uncluttered (with 360-degree engine/drivetrain access), and easy to understand mechanically, thanks to the dearth of through-hulls and other complexities IPS facilitates. I admired the white-painted bilges of the resin-infused hull, the schematically laid-out wire and plumbing runs, and the array of Schedule 31 batteries neatly housed in high-end retainers to port.

Donnie appeared at three o'clock. And the way he subsequently took command of the 3900 Sovran's joystick after a little practice thoroughly validates my take on the vessel.

The Sovran 3900 is fast, seaworthy, and finely-finished, but her true forte's dockside maneuvering. Thanks to Volvo Penta's IPS joystick technology, it's child's play. Literally.

Tiara Yachts
(616) 392-7163

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This article originally appeared in the November 2006 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.