The Evolution of Elegance

The Evolution
of
Elegance
Holland, Michigan-based Tiara Yachts
has grown to become one of the
world’s most prestigious boat brands,
with customer focus and an unrivaled
commitment to excellence.
building photo by craig ritchie; other photos courtesy of tiara
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by Craig Ritchie
ercedes-Benz. Dom Perignon. Louis Vuitton. When we think of luxury,
there are many iconic names that inevitably spring to mind. And when we
think of luxury boating, that includes Tiara Yachts.
While many luxury brands boast European roots, Holland, Michigan-based Tiara is very much
a product of the Great Lakes. The company’s history goes back to 1946, when an 18-year-old,
would-be farmer named Leon Slikkers left the family homestead in Diamond Springs, Michigan
and set out for the nearby community of Holland for a new career building boats.
Following in the footsteps of two older brothers, Slikkers became caught up in the
whirlwind of opportunity that sprung out of America’s booming post-war economy. With
no desire to take over the family farm, he took a job at the Chris-Craft boat plant, working
in the joiner department making cabin tops. He advanced up the company ladder, and
learned enough about different aspects of boatbuilding that when a 1952 strike left him
without a paycheck, Slikkers and another employee named Jason Petroelje made ends
meet by building some boats of their own. Working from Slikkers’ garage, the pair built
and sold 10 outboard-powered runabouts by the time the strike was settled. Although
Slikkers was happy to return to the plant for the security of regular wages, the seed had
been sown; and by January 1955, he left Chris-Craft for good to manufacture his own
boats full-time, selling them under the new brand name SlickCraft.
Business was brisk. By the end of the year, Slikkers had built and sold 35 boats — all
14-footers with molded plywood hulls. Although it was widely used in boatbuilding at
the time, Slikkers wasn’t entirely happy with molded plywood as a working material. A
relatively new product called fiberglass, however, seemed to offer numerous advantages,
being easier to work into complex shapes and, unlike wood, impervious to rot.
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“It intrigued me because we were always trying to bend wood that didn’t want to
bend, in order to form some of the curves,” Slikkers said in a 2002 interview. “I was
thinking, ‘If you could just lay this material in, you could really come up with some
fantastic shapes that are more conducive to a boat than to have to bend, cut or shape
wood.’ Plus, the talk was that it would last forever.”
Slikkers began offering boats built on fiberglass hulls for the 1958 model year,
including models that were the first to integrate color into the gelcoat. The new material
proved so successful that only two years later, Slikkers ceased offering plywood hulls
altogether and moved to fiberglass production exclusively.
SlickCraft grew steadily through the 1960s, as North American families enjoyed
greater purchasing power and increased leisure time. Like any successful venture, it
wasn’t long before SlickCraft attracted the attention of large conglomerates looking to
diversify their portfolios. An offer from AMF Corporation in September 1969 seemed
too good to pass up, and Slikkers sold the company, staying on as president of the
SlickCraft Division of AMF.
Just as Leon Slikkers embraced the future when he moved
from plywood to fiberglass hulls, today’s Tiara is moving
ahead by listening to its customers and taking the lead from
their ever-changing needs.
“A few years ago we engaged in an exercise to solicit
detailed feedback from our customers and our dealers,” says
Tom Slikkers. “Today’s market is so dynamic that you have
to pay very close attention all the time. That proved to be a
valuable experience, because it allowed us to not only clearly
see where the market is right now, but see a consensus on
where it is headed moving forward.”
The first fruits of that effort appeared in Tiara’s new
Coupe series.
“We brought a number of the customers back and showed
them some mockups that they could go through and offer
their opinions,” says Slikkers. “We applied that second
round of input and refined the designs even further. The
development of the Coupe series was a longer process, but
it was because we were essentially reinventing a boat.
“As an example, one consistent piece of feedback we kept
hearing is that anyone preparing lunch in the galley found
themselves to be far away from the action. So we took that
to heart and focused the cabin of the boat on heads and beds,
if you will, while moving the galley to a position where it can
serve both the bow and stern of the boat while remaining fully
connected to what’s happening on deck. Now you don’t go
to make a sandwich and come back to ask ‘What did I miss?’
You don’t miss anything, because you’ve never really left.”
Based on strong sales of the 50 Coupe and, more recently,
the 44 Coupe introduced at last year’s Fort Lauderdale
International Boat Show, the company listened well. Sales
have been so strong that Tiara has announced plans to
introduce a new 39 Coupe later this year.
The birth of S2
It didn’t take long before Slikkers found himself at odds with the new owner’s approach to
boatbuilding. The sale included a non-compete agreement that would prevent Slikkers from
participating in the manufacturing of powerboats for five years after leaving the firm. But the
non-compete clause said nothing about building sailboats. Slikkers subsequently left AMF
and established a sailboat manufacturing company named S2 Yachts — the “S” representing
Slikkers, and the “2” representing the simple fact that it was his second boat company.
The process of building sailboats is vastly different than that of building powerboats,
but S2’s focus on quality construction and innovative designs resonated with buyers, and
the company quickly grew. Slikkers two eldest sons, David and Robert, by then had
completed college and joined the business. Before long, the company began construction
of a new 72,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Holland.
With the expiry of Slikkers’ non-compete agreement, S2 Yachts re-entered the powerboat
industry with the creation of its all-new Tiara Division in 1976. Slikkers hoped his new
boats would be treasured by his customers.
Initially offering 20- and 25-foot models, Tiara quickly caught on with Great Lakes
boaters and became much sought-after by customers and dealers alike.
Efforts to introduce Pacific salmon into the Great Lakes during the 1970s had created
an active sport fishery by the time Tiara entered the marketplace, so it was inevitable that
plant engineers — many of whom liked to fish — recognized that with some relatively
minor changes, the Tiara hulls could be reworked into innovative and comfortable fishing
platforms. The resulting Tiara fishing model, named Pursuit, drew strong accolades and
was spun off as its own line of boats. By 1983, the Pursuit line had developed such a level
of demand that a second factory, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, was built to handle their
construction. A short time later, the Holland plant switched to production of Tiara boats
alone after S2 Yachts elected to conclude production of its two sailboat lines in order to
focus on its Tiara and Pursuit brands.
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photo courtesy of tiara
Slikkers’ third son, Tom, joined the business during this period and became president
of the Pursuit division. Today, he is the president and CEO of S2 Yachts, responsible
for both Pursuit and Tiara.
“We have 850,000 square feet of manufacturing space for Tiara under one roof here in
Holland, Michigan,” he says. “And we have the Pursuit plant in Florida. We expanded the
Holland plant in 2006, which was certainly interesting timing in retrospect. The inboard
boat segment was hit hard in the 2008 downturn, but like many in the boating industry,
we’ve been through rough patches before. Every time life hits the reset button, you find
a growing section of the population that’s coming up, and we are ready to engage them.”
photos by craig ritchie
Today’s Tiara
Tiara’s customer focus will bear further fruit this summer, when
the company officially launches another new model — this one
designed squarely with younger buyers in mind. The all-new
Q44 is a day boat described as a true luxury SUV on the water.
“There are a lot of day boats on the market, but our view,
from listening to our customer feedback, is that customer
needs have changed,” says Slikkers. “They want to bring
paddleboards, they want to bring a kayak, they have a Zodiac,
they have bicycles. And the simple reality is that most day
boats simply won’t accommodate all that, so what does the
customer do? Day boaters have changed, and the boat now
has to do more than just take you for a swim or let you go
hang out at the beach for a few hours. The expansion of
what day boating has come to mean has overwhelmed that
old definition. So, Tiara will have the ultimate luxury SUV,
the Q44. It’s still a Tiara, and still has the same DNA, but
in a design that’s quite unlike anything else out there.”
While the new models show a clear commitment to
remain fresh and relevant to today’s boater, Tiara has made
Tom Slikkers,
president and CEO
of S2 Yachts.
other refinements based on its understanding of current
trends that go beyond the product lineup. Younger buyers
respond differently to influences than boomers do. Their
buying patterns are different, their questions are different,
and the things that attract them to the boat to begin with
are different. Decision-making timelines are longer, and the
buyer’s sphere of influence considerably larger.
“If you go to buy a new cell phone, you can read 2,500 reviews
of it online before you even have it in your hands,” says Slikkers.
“Our customers are well educated, they’ve done their research
and they’ve normally owned several boats already. They’re
looking for quality and value, and they’re willing to pay for it.
Our job is to ensure that as time goes on, we continue to deliver
boat designs that meet those expectations, and surpass them.”
As S2 Yachts adapts to its next generation of buyers, the values
and principles that brought its Tiara and Pursuit brands such
overwhelming success continue to be the driving force behind the
company. Company founder Leon Slikkers, who will celebrate
his 87th birthday in April, still comes in to the office every day.
“I’m inspired by the way my father continues to play a
role in the growth of our company and is active daily in new
product development and current trends in the marketplace,”
says Tom Slikkers. “With almost 60 years of boatbuilding
and design experience, he undoubtedly understands our
industry unlike anyone else in the world. His depth of
knowledge is immeasurable.”
The company also benefits from an extraordinary
management team.
“We’re blessed with a number of truly talented, professional
people,” says Slikkers. “The boatbuilding business has become
extremely complex, and to take it forward you need tremendous
expertise in a number of highly diverse areas.”
That’s particularly true when one considers how much
craftsmanship still goes into building a modern yacht.
Balancing modern materials and computer-assisted design,
a surprising amount of production work is still done by
hand. As with fine automobiles or fine wines, that ageless
craftsmanship and relentless pursuit of perfection is what
separates the good from the true icons of luxury.
With its enduring legacy, a solid core of top industry
professionals and a third generation of the Slikkers family already
joining the business, Tiara’s future has never looked brighter. H
“Our job is to
ensure that as
time goes on,
we continue
to deliver boat
designs that
meet customer
expectations,
and surpass
them.”
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