The Back Cove 34 is launched

I know, I have not been as good as I should have been about updating the Back Cove 34 as it went through the various stages of construction. Time got away from me and boat show season started before I could say "new model".

The 34 is sensational. Every change that was made from the swim platform to the new island berth, just works so well. The boat was shown in a local show in Rockland two weeks ago and the response was outstanding. Next we are off to Newport, RI, Norwalk, CT and Annapolis, MD on the East Coast and to Seattle - Lake Union in the West. Our boat show calendar will give you the dates of these shows.

 
 

 

See you at the shows !

Open Boat Yard Days

As an active member of Maine Built Boats, Sabre Yachts wants to be sure you are aware of Maine's Open Boatyard Days coming up in August. Many of Maine's boat builders who will participate in the event. If you love boats you will love this inside look at our yards.
The 2nd Annual "Open Boatyard Days" will be held August 15 & 16, 2011, in boatyards and boat building companies across the state. The public is invited to tour the insides of companies which include boat builders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses across the state of Maine. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about boat building in Maine, and to see first hand the passion that boat builders have for their art. The dates will build upon the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, held in Rockland, August 12th-14th. People can visit the show and see a very broad array of boats, then go on to visit the boatbuilders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses at their location. More details will be posted as they become available.

Cockpit awning dilema

I am often asked how to rig a cockpit awning on both our Sabre and Back Cove boats and when I think I can get away with it I give my pat answer. "You have three ways to go and one is inexpensive, one is modest and one is higher priced (but very reasonable." Of course that confuses everyone even more but hey, that's boating. Always choices to be made.

 
 
I have seen simple tarps supported by poles inserted in the hawse pipes at the transom and tightened with line running down to the swim platform. I have seen versions like this one which I think are very elegant and in keeping with the look and overall profile of the boat as drawn by the designer. This one folds away against the aft end of the hard top when the crew wants to get a little sun and deploys when shade from sun or shelter from rain is required. I spotted this one this past weekend and thought I would pass it along. Any good canvas shop could design and install this style.

The high end of the three choices is a little company called Sure Shade. They do a great job on an awning that can be deployed manually or by electric drive motors mounted to actuators below or on top of the hard top. This is a terrific company and I love their work. We have seen units installed on boats as small as the Back Cove 29 and as large as the Sabre 52 Salon Express. Great folks and a great product.

So there you have it; shade at last!

Cockpit seating is King

As you know Back Cove Yachts is associated with Sabre Yachts. Sabre Yachts started life in 1970 building sailing yachts and continues to build sailboats from 36 to 45 feet in length to this day. And so, I have plenty of opportunities to speak with sailors about power boating and power boaters about sailing. In my most simple explanation of the differences I say that "sailing is all about the journey and power boating is about the destination." Of course there's more to it than that but it's a good start wouldn't you agree?

So as the Back Cove 34 comes to life one of our priorities has been the comfort of the cockpit seating because when one reaches the destination one is going to be sitting around in the cockpit enjoying what boating has to offer. Pictured here is the new aft cockpit seat. For 33 connoisseurs you will know that the 33 seat was straight across the beam of the cockpit from the transom door to the port side coaming. This new seat as seen here on the designers computer screen is an L-shaped seat with storage below. This cozy corner is one that I know that I would try to grab before anyone else gets a bright idea about sitting there.

 

Almost there on the IGU

In our world IGU stands for Internal glass unit. What that is on a Back Cove is the white fiberglass hull liner into which furniture and systems are fitted as the boat building assembly process takes place. The big change from the Back Cove33 over to the new 34 is her IGU. The liner mold had to be changed to create the island berth and to move the L-settee aft to accommodate the new berth dimension. The plug for the new liner is now complete as shown here. From here there is one additional step to create the actual mold then production can begin.

 

 

We're really excited about the new design and look forward to showing her to you in July

Back Cove 34 Build Begins

 
The first Back Cove 34 will ship in July so the work that needs to be done to create her new IGU (Internal Glass Unit) has begun in our tooling shop. In tooling work you either start from square one or you make a glass master of another part and modify that to give you what you want for the new design. The 34 is, as we have explained before, an updated Back Cove 33 and most of the changes are inside the cabin where the Vee-berth changes over to a pedestal berth. Were this an entirely new hull mold we would be doing all of these new tools from scratch but in this case the work can be accomplished much more quickly. Still there are plenty of details to be built into the plug and that is what you see here.

 

This new interior pan is being built from a splash part (white gelcoat) and the modifications can be seen in wood. The change has already been made to the vee-berth and the hanging locker which was built of timber in the 33 has now become part of the mold and will be built in FRP and then be faced with a cherry wood door. New steps are now built in to provide easier egress into and out of the berth.

Look for more updates over the weeks to come as hull #1 goes into production and flows through the assembly process.

First Back Cove 30 Delivered in Australia

 

Bruce Sutton is pictured here alongside his new Back Cove 30 Mojo which has just been delivered to him in McMahon's Point, New South Wales (aka Sydney Harbor) by our dealer Jed Elderkin of EMarine. There are two more Back Cove 30's in build for shipment to Australian clients over the next few months.

I hope to see Bruce and the other owners when I travel to the Sydney Boat Show next July. Meanwhile Bruce, have fun with the new boat. There are many envious people looking at this image and wishing that our Northern spring would come a little faster.

Best of the Year Award for the Back Cove 30

Anyone who has already seen or purchased the Back Cove 30 will not be surprised to learn that Motorboating Magazine has chosen the Back Cove 30 for it's Compact Cruiser, Best of the Year Award.

 

We are all very excited, honored and humbled by the award. In a very large and very competitive marketplace it's good to know that we are doing what the professionals feel are the right things with our product offerings.

I'll have an update for you after we go to the Miami Boat Show where the awards will be presented. Meanwhile we'll revel in the light while continuing to build the best, Compact Cruisers in the market.

Grin, grin, grin ! 

Infusion-Confusion?

Infusion, vacuum bagging, hand lay up, bla, bla, bla. It's all marketing-speak until the hull hits the water.

There's been plenty written lately about the new techniques employed in making fiberglass boat parts. To most consumers it's simply not that important. Performance, interior features and accommodations top the list of priorities for many. But, with the large monetary investments that we have in our boats, shouldn't we know that the integrity of the entire vessel is tied to the quality of the construction of the major fiberglass parts? The straight answer is yes and the best technique currently being employed to do this work is Back Cove's VIP Resin Infusion Technology.

The basics of the system follow herein but you are always welcome to come to either the Back Cove or Sabre facilities to witness this process for yourself. In the good old days we rolled out pieces of dry fiberglass woven roving and liberally applied resin to the cloth in order to create the stack of materials which became the fiberglass part. We then squeezed out the resin and air as best we could using rollers and brushes. Glass to resin ratios in these hand laid parts was typically in the 40/60 range.

Today's technique involves applying the gelcoat (exterior color) to the mold. Then all materials including the coring are applied dry, using an adhesive to temporarily hold the layers together. Then we insert supply lines and pull and large one-piece plastic cover over the entire part, sealing the edges against the mold so that air cannot escape. Once the part is ready we start the flow of resin which is drawn into the bag as pressure is applied to remove all of the air. Within an hour the resin flows from it's entry points to the dry fiberglass, wetting it out and removing air voids. Typical glass to resin ratios in this type of part are in the 60/40 range.

The process is far cleaner and emits fewer VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the environment so everyone benefits, not just the boat buyer. The parts are lighter and they are stronger because they have a better glass to resin ratio. Lighter powerboats burn less fuel too so the gains are ongoing.

When considering a new fiberglass boat or even if you are considering new versus used boats, think about the integrity of a resin infused part. It truly is better for you and for the environment that we live in.

Look for an upcoming article about Back Cove's VIP process written by boating expert Eric Sorensen who recently spent a day in our glass shop. He was most impressed with the process we employ.

Celebrating Christmas with The Folks That Get It Done

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a new team member at Back Cove. Aaron Cormier is the latest addition to the skilled engineering staff and he joins us from Lyman Morse Boat Building in Thomaston, Maine. Aaron (on the right) is pictured here with Kevin Burns (left) who heads up the Sabre and Back Cove design teams and with fellow engineer Adam Carlson (center). Welcome aboard Aaron.

 

These guys really are the reason why our boats are good looking, rugged and so well equipped and put together. They work on every detail of our designs and are a very big part of the popularity of our boats. They make our jobs on Marketing and Sales pretty easy.

We celebrated Christmas yesterday with our crew in Rockland. "Sandy Claus" made an appearance and gave out presents to all of the good girls and boys. Their numbers have risen almost to pre-recession levels which is truly amazing given that many other boat builders are still running at less than 50% capacity.

This Holiday Season we are very thankful for all that we have and for all that the New Year has in store for us.

Happy Holidays