Back Cove Blog

Fishing and the Back Cove 30


I love eating fish but I am not an angler. If I were an angler I may have fought harder to make the 30 more fishable. There are plenty of dealers and a lot of potential clients who would argue that we should have made the Back Cove 30 into a fishing machine but I am more pragmatic than that as are our designers and engineers.

Certainly a Back Cove 30 can be fished. Even a dock can be fished right? What makes true blue fishermen upset about our design is the fixed seating in the cockpit. This decision was not taken lightly so please let me explain.

First we looked at the results we had with the Back Cove 29 and the fishing packages we offered on that model. The results of that analysis told us that serious fishing was not why people bought Back Cove 29's (or 26's or 33's for that matter). Yes we did sell a lot of rod holders and we sold some complete fish packages as well but they were in the minority.

Second and most important but most difficult for anglers to accept is that there is a technical reason we opted for fixed seating. The opening created for the transom door leaves the two flanks of the transom unsupported on one of three sides. That may eventually lead to gelcoat crazing around the bottom corners. And so we chose the seats because their shape, when seen in profile, is a knee or brace that fully reinforces the transom.

Cockpit seating

Here's the plug of the 30 deck seen a couple of weeks ago showing the seating on the left, the steps to the side deck in the middle and the aft end of the helm deck seating on the right. 

Of course there is a third point here too and that is the fact that this seating design makes this one of the best places possible to hang with family and friends so come this summer maybe the fishermen can put down their rods for an hour and come sit with us in the comfort of the Back Cove 30. We're serving fresh sea food

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New Back Cove 37 Video


I am an early bird. One of my favorite things to do during the annual Miami Boat Show is to get out early for sea trials or to shoot some video or still images of our boats. The early morning light in Miami in February is beautiful and perfect for the purpose.

Orchestrating the shoot is complex because we use a helicopter whenever we can. The helicopter charter has to be set up days in advance and we rely heavily on the weatherman to tell us what the morning light will be like on our chosen morning. The boats leave the dock in the darkness about 1/2 hour before dawn. The helicopter pilot and cameraman are, meanwhile, warming up the machine at the Tamiami airport and getting in the air as we depart the marina. We rendezvous about 20 minutes later at (in this case) the Rickenbacker Causeway bridge at the Northern end of Biscayne Bay. The sun is rising and the morning light is warm and inviting.

Once we are all on station the fun and shoot begin. The helicopter pilot is amazing. A real pro. He can fly backwards or sideways at 30 knots with his skids just feet above the bow pulpit of the boat. The first time out it's a little tense for the boat's captain but once you get used to it is is just plain exciting.

The cameraman, who in this case is Billy Black, is sitting with legs dangling out the side door. He uses a gyro stabilizer to take out any shakes and wobbles, and via his headset he is speaking with the pilot and the boat captain. The result of our early morning outing at this years Miami show can be seen at this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trASCGYOjzw

Hope you like it We had fun doing it.

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Back Cove 30 Hull mold completed


In ten days from now, I and three other associates of Back Cove Yachts will be heading up to Quebec to inspect the hull mold of the new Back Cove 30. The plug, pictured here about two weeks ago, has been finished to the mirror surface that you will see on the production hulls. Note the final finish on the left side of this image. The mold structure was no been built over the top of it. It is critical at this point that the structure of the mold be extremely rigid so that when it is removed from the plug, nothing changes shape.

The next major mold, now in build, is the IGU or internal glass unit. This is the skeleton of the interior where ultimately all of her interior furnishings will be fitted. Recognize any of the surfaces yet?

IMGP7683

More to show you when I get back from La Belle Province.

 

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Cabin Fever at the Boat Show


When it’s cold outside and the winter days are short, thoughts inevitably turn to the halcyon days on the water on board a boat. Today I was shivering at my desk when Bruce sent me a text from Jupiter, Florida to say he had seen one of our boats down at the marina. Bruce, it’s 7 degrees here and 72 down there. Nice guy !

Over the next three months there are a lot of boat shows going on and if you feel the need to get out of your cabin and into the cabin of a new boat, there’s no time like the present. Seeing all the new boats and the technologies they are bringing to market. Taking a look at the latest electronics and gear and buying the new pair of boat shoes is a tradition in many families. It helps to shorten the winter and get launch day on your mind.

P1180079 

Shows are taking place in Toronto, Cleveland, New York, Miami, Portland, Maine and Boston. So let the hibernation end and the show begin.

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Seeing First Hand


About a month ago I was communicating with a young couple who are currently based in Fayetteville, NC. They had attended the boat show in Annapolis last fall and had some questions about the boat. I put them in touch with our dealership in Beaufort, NC and followed the process as they discussed the merits of the Back Cove 33.

Now I have to tell you that if you were at the Annapolis Powerboat Show in October of 2009 you were either stark raving mad or an intrepid boater. The weather that weekend was as bad as it gets and if you were there you were on a mission. So the mere fact that I heard from anyone as a result of that show made me feel pretty good.

As their interest in the 33 increased I invited them to come to Maine to see the boats in build. When you build boats in Maine and invite people to come and see you, you are quite used to having people say “Sure I would love to come. How would July be?”. But then there are people who went to that Annapolis Boat Show. And so they came to visit and their tour was very helpful.

Being able to see hulls in the mold and understanding the technology of building fiberglass parts. Being able to see areas of the boat that only boat builders see. They were able to witness for themselves the craftsmanship and pride with which each boat builder goes about his/her daily tasks; making sure that each operation helps to create the greater, high quality “whole”.  

Bow

When they left (with a planned stop at LL Bean for a little post Christmas shopping) they had a new enthusiasm for Back Cove and a new understanding of what makes a Maine built boat. It’s not all resin and fiberglass, wire and wood, It’s all about the “Fierce Maine Pride”.

And speaking of pride, this young couple are both graduates of the United States Naval Academy.  They have both served their country without question. I should have know they would come up when I asked them to.

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