Dean: 5 Years with Back Cove Yachts

 In this interview we caught up with Dean, who recently celebrated five years with Back Cove Yachts. As Lamination Supervisor, Dean is responsible for ensuring his department has the tools and equipment necessary to build quality parts on a tight schedule. It’s no small task, given that Lamination is the very first step in the production process, but Dean and his team rise to the challenge with expert skill and characteristic good-humor. We’re honored to work with so many talented, creative, and dedicated boat builders. Our thanks and congratulations to Dean for his time, his work-ethic, and his genuine team spirit. 

Do you have a lucky number?

13. It was my sports jersey number, and it has the whole ‘unlucky’ thing working against it. 

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

Ireland – I’ve never been but I’ve always been drawn to it. 

If you could learn any instrument what would you play?

I used to play the bass guitar, loudly and poorly. Now I think I would want to learn the bagpipes.

If you could send a message back through time to your younger self what would you say?

It will get better, just be patient. 

Tell me about the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen:

I was probably 3 or 4 years old, and we had candles in all our windows for Christmas. I remember climbing up the stairs and seeing my room filled with this beautiful orange light from the candle in the window. I’ll always remember that, and orange has been my favorite color ever since. 

Tell me about the person who has impacted your life the most: 

I can’t choose just one, I have to say my whole family. We’re pretty tight-knit, and no matter what my family has always been supportive and encouraging.

What do you cook when no one is home?

Drive-through.

What’s your dream car?

Again, I can’t choose just one. I have lists broken down into sub-categories: In my wildest dreams / Maybe sometime in the future/ Maybe sometime sooner if everything goes right – that sort of thing. 

Pepsi or Coke?

Mountain Dew. 

What are you best at?

I want to say golf, but it’s a lie.

What are you most proud of?

I once made a paper snowflake comparable to a Kevin Burns snowflake. (Honestly, it was nowhere close, but I still tell myself it was comparable)

If you had to sell everything you own, and could only keep one thing, what would you keep and why?

My 3-year-old lab, Riley.

What’s something your mother taught you that you’ve never forgotten?

Manners, and to be respectful. 

Tell me about your earliest childhood memory:

I was ice fishing with my Dad. It was probably around the same time as the candle memory. I caught a rainbow trout and it seemed huge, though it probably wasn’t. I don’t remember where exactly we were, but it was on a lake next to a big hill that we would slide on sometimes. I remember being really proud when we ate the trout for dinner. 

Tell me about someone who is your hero: 

Again, my family – it’s too hard to narrow it down. 

What super power would you like to have?

All of them, but flight most of all.

What, in your opinion, is the best thing about humanity?

Empathy. Our ability to understand other people’s emotions and experiences. 

Is it ever okay to break the rules?

No, it’s never okay, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Name one thing that always makes you smile:

My wife. 

What’s your least favorite thing about the world today?

Politics. Hands down.

What story will you tell your grandchildren when you’re 80?

I don’t know, maybe that I went to the moon, or won a Nascar race. Whatever it is, it will be totally made up.

If you won a million dollars what would you spend it on?

Bills, and I’d still be back here the next day working to pay more. 

If you could talk to someone who has passed away who would it be and what would you say?

My grandfather. And I wouldn’t talk, I’d listen. He was such a great man, and he accomplished so much in his life. Some of my best memories are riding around with him on his John Deere tractor when I was a little kid.