Tiara’s 56 LS is the largest in its Luxury Sport line, and it carries its name in spades, but an optional fishing package marries two seafaring pastimes in a way that’s hard to compare, which is why we had planned to fish hull number four of the model this summer on Lake Michigan.
Working aboard fishing charters, on the gas dock, and in and around the marina while growing up along the waterfront in Connecticut, I could have sworn Tiara was as New England as clam chowder. These were the boats that people owned and kept sparkling, but were so perfectly outfitted for fishing Long Island Sound that it was my dream to spend summer evenings slipping out to midsound reefs for an al fresco cockpit dinner of sea bass, striper, fluke, porgy, or whatever came over the rail. Those that didn’t want to fish could find their various centers or corners throughout the boat, and I could make an absolute mess in the cockpit: Two worlds colliding.
Learning that these boats were built well to my west was, at least initially, a revelation. Never having seen the Great Lakes, to me, a lake was a lake, and what were people doing with these offshore-capable hulls in the midwest? Further, wouldn’t you just jet right across the oversized puddle with quadruple Mercury Verado 600 V12s? A 47-knot hop at WOT might have had your younger, inner coastal elitist thinking so, too.
This summer, my critical teenaged know-it-all arrogance was zipped shut for good. What was initially meant to be a trip spent trolling for king and silver salmon turned into a brouhaha of thunderstorms and canceled flights. Long story short, I didn’t get to fish the 56 LS, but I did make it out to Tiara’s headquarters in Holland, Michigan, where I could see how and why these boats are built. Anyone who’s spent any time on the Great Lakes knows that these inland seas are more than capable at whipping up a frenzy of short period chop well beyond anything Long Island Sound might summon, and a small cabin cruiser or large center console is the preferred vessel for any given day. Sure, you’ll see small boats out there, but damned if they’re fishing in comfort.
Tiara Design Principal Gabriel Rose is a fisherman in his off hours, and you can see where his personal predilections found their way into the boat, within reason. Outriggers can be a big ask, as can a dedicated transom for fishing. The solution came via two module choices: The “Buffet Lounge,” which works as an aft galley complete with sink (that doubles for freshwater washdown), a fridge and a Kenyon electric grill and two-burner induction stove, all accessed on the swim platform behind a resplendent banquette seat, which opens to reveal a toy chest. Then there’s the Adventure Module, which includes rodholders and a large livewell.
A large teak table folds open in front of the forward-facing stern banquette to meet a matching aft-facing banquette for larger hors d’oeuvres servings. And if the crowd is smaller, the table space isn’t needed, or you simply want another place to walk through or stand in the cockpit, the banquette slides aft to close the gap and open another one between it and the amidships galley. That galley bears another hot/cold sink, cooktop, two drawer fridges and a drawer freezer. A SureShade offers overhead protection covering most of the cockpit.
You could, in theory, have several cocktail parties and servings underway at once aboard this boat, which is something of a feat with a sub-60-foot vessel. But again, this is the sort of thing that allows the 56 LS to accommodate one and all.
And speaking of “all,” it’s hard to get a seating count on this model, there are benches and seats that flip into tables and tables to turn into benches. In the pilothouse, another small dinette that forms a daybed across from a cooler box bench whose three helm seats face three large Garmin MFDs to starboard and a fourth to port-across a companionway that leads to the cabin below. An electronic sunroof lets in light and fresh air as well, and the pilothouse hermetically seals with electronically actuated sliding hatch doors, with heating and cooling for all weather conditions. A Seakeeper 10.5 should keep stomachs steady in most sea states.
For more room, electronic terrace doors and manual dive doors are built into each hull side along the cockpit, and if that doesn’t open things up enough, a widened passage to starboard allows for bow access, where a teak table serves at least six by my count. That bow dinette (which folds into two separate cocktail tables) and the settee (which opens into a sunpad) anchor another highly modular area. An anchor locker (with raw water washdown) makes up the rest of the pointy end.
Down below, an elegant, port-situated gangway takes a sharp turn to center where there’s access to the amidships master suite or the pair of twin berths, while up in the forepeak you’ll find an owner’s en suite stateroom with a V-berth. One head is exclusively en suite while the other serves as a dayhead with suite access to the guest stateroom.
Too many 50-foot and larger “center consoles”—the term must be applied loosely here—veer one way or the other. The conundrum is always the same: Luxuriating passengers are reminded too much that they’re aboard a fishing boat, or vice versa. It’s not an easy balance to strike, and there are plenty of builders working hard at it and certainly making strides. But something about the enclosed pilothouse, large cabin, and business-friendly back end with outriggers and all makes Tiara’s 56 LS a very hard one to beat.
Suffice it to say I’ll be back for those salmon, hopefully aboard that very boat, in due time. Isn’t it wonderful to prove yourself wrong?
Tiara 56 LS Specifications:
LOA: 56’2”
Beam: 16’
Draft: 4’
Fuel: 1,000 gal.
Water: 250 gal.
Power: 4/600-hp Mercury V12
This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
