Back Cove Blog
Leaving the marina and returning to the dock are the two most anxious moments in a boaters day. After all if you mess up it is a little embarrassing. I for one will admit to one very embarrassing departure on board my Back Cove 29. Luckily for me there were only a couple of dock boys who witnessed my stupidity and a kind word to them ensured that the story would go no further. IN truth I bet they are still laughing about it in the dock boats office at the marina.
My error was to leave the dock with the powercord still attached. OK there I said it OK? I was truly surprised at how that tether controlled my desire to turn port and go ahead until I finally realized what was happening.
Not that a stern thruster has anything at all to do with power cords but one sure way to look like a pro both coming and going is to use a stern thruster installed. I was not a huge fan until I tried one after all is it really manly to have people know that you have one? One day I was discussing this with a very experienced professional captain and his advice was “use whatever tools you have available to make all of your maneuvers as smooth and as safe as you can”. I can tell you that now I impress even the real;ly experienced guys with by comings and goings, in any wind and tide conditions.
In this image you can see the thruster body and on either side a downward facing cowl which prevents to thruster from sucking air down and into the tube and increases efficiency. One you try one you won’t want to be without it.
Tags: Back Cove Design, Back Cove Owners, Back Cove Yachts
Posted in Back Cove Yachts Blog | Comments Off on Stern Thrusters and Avoiding being the Laughing Stock
As you might imagine I get asked by lots of people, “how are you guys doing in this economy?”
Perhaps not the best blog topic but what the heck I’ll write about it and let the readers decide if it’s interesting or not.
Well, the plain and simple truth is that it’s tough but we Mainiacs are used to tough. A lot of our dealers were well stocked when the financial meltdown beganand they have had to hold boats in inventory for longer than they would like. But I am really pleased to say that a lot of stock boats have sold to new owners over the last few months and things are looking quite bright as we enter the month of May. Our annualized boat sales are down from 2008 but nowhere near the drops that have been seen by the “white plastic boat guys” as we call them around here.
We’re here for the long run. Boaters will always enjoy boating and that is not going to change. Sure boating will take a hit just like every other outdoor activity that has a cost associated with it. We are doing fine thank you very much and will continue to work our way through the downturn. After all, the snow is gone now and the grass is growing again.
In Maine that’s cause for optimism !
Tags: Back Cove Yachts. Maine
Posted in Back Cove Yachts Blog | Comments Off on Back Coves are selling and grass is growing
A lot of you have great boating weather year round but here in Maine, boating weather starts late and ends early, so when it does come, enthusiasts get very excited. This weekend looks really great but most boats are still in the parking lot with their shrink wrap cocoons over them. My wife and I on the other hand launched our Back Cove 33 Paper Moon last week and ran her down to Boothbay Harbor on Friday and then to her home port of South Freeport, Maine on Saturday.
One of my favorite things about our home port of South Freeport is something that only boaters can see As you approach past the tiny island named “Pound of Tea”, a castle turret appears on the top of the hill overlooking the Harraseeket River. The history of this turret is that it was once part of the Casco Castle. “In 1903, the castle and an amusement park were built here by Amos Gerald to encourage travel by trolley cars, although the hotel would burn in 1914.”
The turret remains in place to this day and as our summer season begins I look forward to seeing it each time I return to port with the sun glinting through it’s windows.
Tags: Back Cove 33, Back Cove Owners, Back Cove Yachts, Maine
Posted in Back Cove Yachts Blog | Comments Off on Great weather weekend for a new boating season
By far the most popular features of our web site are the video footage and the virtual tours of our boat models. I just received a link to the Back Cove 37 tour and thought you might enjoy seeing it.
I love technology and the company that produces these for me are top shelf.
BTW the "rustic" building in which this was shot is not the clean modern Back Cove facility spoken of last week on the blog. This is Portland Yacht Services where the annual Maine Boat Builders Show is held each March.
Tags: Back Cove 37, Back Cove Yachts
Posted in Back Cove Yachts Blog | Comments Off on Back Cove 37 Virtual Tour available now
I am often asked “if it would be OK to come for a plant tour?” Are you kidding me? We are so proud of what we do and how we do it that we welcome all plant tours at Back Cove Yachts. In fact the “yard” (as we call them in Maine) is our best selling tool so be forewarned that if you come to the yard you may end up buying a boat whether that was what you started out to do or not.
The Back Cove yard is the large building in the center right and in the lower left corner of this image is the old shop where the first Back Cove 29’s and 26’s were built. By chance, as the popularity of the Back Cove began to grow, the building across the street where Nautica once made and warehoused their clothing line, became available and we decided to purchase this magnificent facility. The conversion to boat building was accomplished and today we have one of the best boat building facilities in the country.
If your spring and summer travels call for a trip to Maine, be sure to call and set up a tour. You won’t be disappointed and you’ll enjoy what you see. We would welcome your visit Monday through Thursday.
Tags: Back Cove Production, Back Cove Yachts, Maine
Posted in Back Cove Yachts Blog | Comments Off on Back Cove Plant Tours
