[bobsue]

Hello All,  Hope we are in the correct spot to introduce ourselves.  We are in contract for a 2001 3500 Open hardtop with Cummins  700 hours, possibly third owners but not sure.  Looking for input on things to look out for and have read a little about moisture issues in the coring but any and all advise is greatly appreciated.  Hopeful all goes well and we get to close on the boat otherwise we will still be in the market for a Tiara.

We live in Stuart area and plan to do local trips and a little fishing at first until we get up our confidence.

Thank You,

Bob and Susie

[trit21]

Hello All,  Hope we are in the correct spot to introduce ourselves.  We are in contract for a 2001 3500 Open hardtop with Cummins  700 hours, possibly third owners but not sure.  Looking for input on things to look out for and have read a little about moisture issues in the coring but any and all advise is greatly appreciated.  Hopeful all goes well and we get to close on the boat otherwise we will still be in the market for a Tiara.

We live in Stuart area and plan to do local trips and a little fishing at first until we get up our confidence.

Thank You,

Bob and Susie

I own a 2000 3500 Open in Ft Pierce, live in Orlando,  boat lives in Ft Pierce. If you have any questions let me know. There are a lot of little things to look for which are fairly simple to fix if you are hands on. No boat is perfect but these Tiara's are an awesome boat. I would make sure all maintenance was done like after coolers, heat exchangers, raw water pump and impellers as these can be higher cost items to repair. Ensure you can turn over rated rpm of 3000 to ensure long life on the engines. 

Tom

[bobsue]

Tom,

I greatly appreciate your responding and a list of the items you make reference to would be very helpful. I've scoured the net for issues with this boat as part of my due diligence. Id love to know what to look out for and put my own eyeballs on it before I go further in the process.

I've read some horror stories on water moisture issues on the balsa coring as well.

[Chris Burkard]

Bob & Suzie,

The Tiara 3500 Open is an awesome boat! It is one of the best hulls Tiara ever designed. It handles chop like a champ, it is dry and fuel efficient.

Your survey will likely include a moisture meter reading of the hull, deck and hardtop. The trouble areas are usually around fittings and equipment mounted through the fiberglass such as the windlass & foot switches, antennas on the hardtop, steaming light on the transom and thru-hulls on the hull sides by the water line. Depending on how far out the moisture has spread, most of these moist areas can be easily repaired by simply removing the hardware or equipment, digging out the old bedding compound, allowing the coring to dry and reinstalling the hardware and equipment with new bedding compound. I wouldn't worry about high moisture readings as long as they are localized and when sounded with a hammer there is no delamination.

The above water thru-hulls on the 35 were made of a plastic material. They only have about a 7 year life span. If yours are original, I would consider replacing them. They can deteriorate badly and actually break off allowing water to enter the hull. If it were me, I would replace them with chrome on bronze, but some like to install the original equipment, which is perfectly fine.

Another important thing to look for is to make sure that the fiberglass tabbing in the cabin holding the galley cabinets, seating sections and berth are all in good condition. If any of the tabbing is broken, it is time to repair them. Leaving the tabbing broken can over time allow things to shift, which will make for a much harder repair in the future.

Lastly and most importantly is the engines and running gear. The engines are the most expensive components in the entire boat. Have a separate engine survey conducted by a qualified diesel technician. Also make sure that you have oil samples taken that can indicate internal engine condition. The Cummins 370s are great engines, but they must be maintained properly. The most important engine items to look out for are the cooling pumps, heat exchangers and coolers. Make sure the engines reach their rated RPM. If they do not, then the engines may have been over stressed causing internal engine damage (oil samples!).

Once you have the survey reports back, make sure that you have the survey deficiency items quoted by a qualified service center, so that you know what you are getting into. Don't be afraid to renegotiate the deal should the dollar values of the quote be higher than you were expecting.

Good Luck!