Back Cove Blog

Woodshop Is a Large Portion of a Back Cove Build


Back Cove yachts are known for the beautiful downeast design and fuel efficient engines but another charm to these boats is the fine woodwork hand crafted by Back Cove Associates based in Rockland Maine. The skills of these nine associates are second to none. They build everything from cabinets, to tables, to interior trim.

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Back Cove interiors are all built from American grown cherry choosen because the wood is strong and ideal for furniture building. We also think it’s important that American Cherry is a renewable, sustainable, hardwood that is harvested in the Eastern United States.

To ensure the beautiful wood will need very little upkeep or maintenance, each finished product receives four coats of varnish (two sealer coast and 2 finish coats). 

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Robin building a galley cabinet

When a boat is ordered, the wood shop creates a “kit” for that particular hull. Once all the pieces are complete in the woodshop, they are installed into the boats as completed, varnished components; berths, lockers, bureaus, drawers and more.

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The drawers are built of solid maple because it’s superior to an engineered wood product. Dovetail joinery on a drawer box represents a higher level of fit and finish. 

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The image above is the beginnings of an island berth.  On the left is the berth face with drawer openings. The piece on the right is one of the side supports which is shaped to fit the internal glass unit. 

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Wood shop labor represents roughly 15% of the total build hours. All wooden components are built by hand; we hand route parts and mill the various lumber profiles in house.  

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The interior of a Back Cove has beautiful built-in cabinetry that looks and feels elegant but is also practical to maintain for years to come.

Back Cove Yachts: Practical Elegance. From Maine.

 

 

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Tooling the Downeast 37 Deck


In early January, Kevin Burns, Vice President of Design and
Product Development for Back Cove Yachts took a visit to Maine Concepts in Cape
Coral, Florida to check on the mold for Back Cove’s newest model – the Back
Cove Downeast 37. Marine Concepts specializes in composites tooling and
fiberglass parts. Before the mold can be built, Marine Concepts builds a full
sized pattern (often called a “plug”) to the precise shape and finish of the final
part.

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Shapes around the mate seat position.

 

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View of the forward cabin trunk surfaces.

 

The plug is made of a structure covered in foam; a robotic
router shapes the foam based on 3D design files of the Downeast 37 sent to
Marine Concepts from the Back Cove Design Team. The robot first carves a rough
foam shape that is close to the final surface of the plug. 

 

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Transom and cockpit door.

After the foam is rough shaped, Technicians reinforce the foam
and apply a thick layer of tooling paste, which hardens into a material which
the router can then machine to the final surfaces – with all the details of the
actual part. Above, in the very top of this photo, you can see the robot in
action.

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Looking forward from the port quarter.

 

Once the dry tooling paste has been applied to the plug, it
is ready for the final pass of the robotic router. The final machining process
is referred to as the “finish mill” stage and takes the router about 10 days to
complete.  

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The plywood plug structure beneath the foam.

 

As you can see from the photo below, the plug is strong enough to walk on. Also note the tooling paste that has been applied – the plug appears to be covered in a layer of clay.

 

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Transom before finish mill

 

After finish mill, the plug moves to another building where
workers apply finish primer, hand sand and polish all the surfaces until they
are shiny. They will also glue down the sheets of “anti-skid” texture on all of
the sole surfaces before they begin to build the mold.

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transom after finish mill

Below is a rendering of the finished part! The mold should
be arriving in Maine by Spring and the first Downeast 37 hull should be launched
by mid-summer. For more information on the Back Cove Downeast 37, visit the Back Cove website.

Deck with skid panels

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The Back Cove Assembly Line


What takes place on the Assembly Line at Back Cove Yachts? Here’s the scoop….

Over fifty boats get built at Back Cove Yachts based in Rockland Maine on an annual basis. The shop floor has two assembly lines. The Back Cove 37 occupies Line One and the Back Cove 30 and Back Cove 34 share Line Two. 

 

Hull P-Stage

 

After the hull and deck are built by the lamination department, they are brought over to the assembly line where there are four bays. The first bay is called Deck Assembly. At this point the hull is bare and the deck gets fitted with windows, hatches and more.

 

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Next is the Engine bay where the engine and fuel tank get installed.

Engine Installed

The third station is called the Hull Bay. This is where the electrical components are completed and the wood interior gets mounted to the hull.

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The last bay is where the deck and hull get attached. The assembly line process, on average, takes fifty days. 

 

Fitting Deck

Fitting Deck on hull

Fitting Deck 2

 

The finished product is a beautiful Back Cove 30 built from start to finish in Rockland, Maine by over 100 Back Cove Associates.

 

 

 

 

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BACK COVE DOWNEAST 37 – debuting in July 2013


Back Cove Yachts is pleased to announce their latest design, the Back Cove Downeast 37 which will debut in July 2013. The companies’ new tagline “Practical Elegance. From Maine.” defines the Back Cove Downeast 37 well. She is practical, elegant and perfectly suited for a day trip along the coast.

Highlights:

  1. Great social spaces – flexible seating
  2. Large cockpit = 11ft x 11ft
  3. Elegant profile
  4. Traditional lobster boat proportions
  5. Open, single level helm deck
  6. Comfortable cruising interior 

37DE_11Kevin Burns, Vice President of Design and Product Development says, “This is an opportunity for us to take all of our thoughts and ideas about what makes day boats such great platforms, and grow those ideas to a scale which allows the proportions to be elegant and balanced.”

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The Design Team at Back Cove Yachts designed the Downeast 37 was with today’s boating
lifestyle in mind. “The ideas that drive the Downeast 37 design are very simple:  Stop-you-in-your-tracks prettiness and the biggest, most flexible exterior spaces available on a boat this size – period.” says Burns.

Owners will appreciate the open cockpit with a SureShade cockpit cover; perfect for an afternoon cruise. They kept the hull of the successful Back Cove 37 but completely redesigned the deck and interior. In the engine room, you’ll find a Cummins 480 which will provide a cruise speed of 20 knots and top speed of 25 knots. 

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Downeast
37 Specification

Length Overall (incl. swim platform, bow sprit)                                  42’ 6”  12.95m

Hull Length (molded)                                                                         38’ 2”  11.64m

Beam (Max)                                                                                      13’ 3”    4.01m

Draft (Hull)                                                                                           28”     
.71m

Draft (Prop)                                                                                          43”  
1.09.m

Displacement (typ. full load)                                                         22,100lbs    11.05t

Fuel                                                                                          300 US Gals 
1135.6l

Water                                                                                      120
US Gals     454.3l

37DE_12
https://www.backcoveyachts.com/

 

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NEW Back Cove Yachts Tagline: Practical Elegance. From Maine.


BC_taglineBack Cove Yachts is proud to announce our new tagline “Practical Elegance, From Maine.” during the 500th Launch Celebration that took place last Thursday (12/5/12).


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Jason Constantine, C.O.O. of Back Cove Yachts, says, “A more fitting tagline could not be created. We are fortunate to have achieved this 500 launch milestone, and must attribute some of that success to this philosophy. Back Cove Yachts are practically built; with robust materials, processes, and installations, without sacrificing the elegant downeast express styling that all can appreciate when spotted in the local harbor."

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The celebration for the 500th Launch took place at the yard with 100 employees and their families, our Back Cove Yacht dealers, members of the surrounding Rockland community and members of press and media.

 

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Boston Yacht Sales Team: purchased #1 and 500!

 

The origin of the brand dates to 2003 when a group of Sabre dealers approached the company with a concept for a less costly, smaller and more abundant range of boats to fill the gap they felt existed below the smallest Sabre model. The “Manchester Six” (the original dealer body) ordered all of the Back Cove 29’s to be built in the first year and asked that they remain exclusive for at least that first year. The company agreed and a brand was born.

New Home

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