American Beauty

by Colin Patterson on 29 Aug 2007 Emarine are the new Australian agents for the American built Back Cove Yachts. These elegant powerboats have classic lines reminiscent of the Maine lobster boat tradition, yet are constructed using state of the art materials and cutting edge technology. Powerboat-World spoke to Emarine’s Jed Elderkin about the range of American beauties which are set to transform the local power boating scene.

Jed Elderkin grew up in Maine and has spent his entire adult life working around boats. After selling his successful US boat sales business he moved to Australia in 1993 and worked as a Sales Manager for Kevlacat Power boats until 1999. During a trip home to Maine he noted the phenomenal growth in the ‘Downeast Style’ pleasure boat market. Originally sparked by a few enterprising boat builders who converted the Maine lobster boat type into pleasure boats, the attractive designs quickly found a world wide market.

Elderkin had been around boats long enough to recognise a winner when he saw it. He was sure that the rugged but beautiful Maine type would be well suited to Australian conditions, and he set about negotiating a dealership arrangement with Back Cove Yachts. Just over a year ago they finalised their arrangement and Emarine’s first stock boat arrived in the country in January of this year.

He said that the response to the Back Coves has been phenomenal with a huge amount of public interest in the brand and a number of orders taken. He’s also had the satisfaction of seeing his instinctive belief in the boat’s popularity confirmed.

‘I’ve often thought how well they would translate to the boating here… We’ve secured orders for a couple of retail sales to date and we’ve just had a tremendous response.’

The first boat that arrived in the country was a 29 foot hardtop which Emarine launched at May’s Sanctuary Cove Boat Show. That success was quickly followed by the arrival of a 26 footer which was displayed at this month’s Sydney International Boat Show. Elderkin had hoped to have the newly launched 33 footer on display but unfortunately the first boat only arrived in the country yesterday, and she’s already been sold to a keen owner.

It’s not just the general boating public that are falling over themselves to compliment the Back Cove range of 26, 29 and 33 footers. In the May/June 2007 edition of Power Cruising Magazine, in a review of the Back Cove 33, Chris Cornell wrote:

‘The visibility from anywhere under the hardtop is nothing short of extraordinary. The big, forward- facing windows in the sharply angled, three-panel array provide a clear view over the bow (both at rest and underway).’

He noted that the 33 continues the Back Cove look and design philosophy which has made the brand instantly recognisable:

‘The trademark spoon (rounded) stem is there, as is the slightly reversed transom with its rounded corners. So are the characteristic, clean pilothouse and trunk cabin.’

Elderkin himself attributes the instant success of the Back Cove range to four very simple factors:

‘Low maintenance and maintenance costs, fuel economy, traditional good looks and exceptional build quality.’

He commented that the single shaft driven diesel engine was easy to maintain, economical and reliable, and this is supported by Chris Cornell’s Back Cove 33 review. He writes:

‘Routine maintenance of the engine, batteries and plumbing will be a piece of cake for owners of this boat, and that’s no small matter. Back Cove has very logically organized the below decks systems: electrical is primarily to port, while plumbing is primarily to starboard.’

The size of the Back Cove range is another point that is going to make them popular with Australian boat owners; to paraphrase a popular quote, they’re relatively small but beautifully formed. A shorter hull length obviously greatly reduces yard and maintenance costs, and the design team have worked hard to make their boats as low maintenance as possible. Although the brightwork is of a high quality it is mostly located in sheltered areas, which removes much of the hard graft of regular varnishing.

Back Cove have vacuum bagged PVC core hull bottom with multi axial E glass reinforcement, and the deck is fitted with Lewmar hatches. Vacuum bagging pulls air out of the layers of wet fibreglass thus reducing the chances of any voids or structural defects and it also ensures a higher fibre to resin ratio.

The interiors of the boats show the exceptional level of craftsmanship typical of well built American vessels.

‘You’ve got solid cherry cabinetry, the drawers have dove tail joints, that’s something you see less of nowadays.’

‘There are solid surface counter tops, beautiful inlaid maple and cherry tables that are very nicely done. It’s a very traditional look and feel but with a lot of thought and consideration given to low maintenance.’

The Emarine team have extensive experience in the international marine industry, with Jed having many years in both sales and boat yard service roles. He said that this range of experience enables him to help boat owners get the most out of their boats.

‘What Emarine Australia strives to achieve with our clients is not just a wonderful relationship but also to assist owners to configure vessels to be used for specifically the way they want them…There’s a lot of customization that can be done at a dealer level, at our level, and we can utilize some of the excellent shipwrights here in Australia to do that.’


Emarine contact details:

North Sydney Marine Centre
6 John Street
McMahon’s Point, NSW 2059

Telephone: 61(0) 417 200 165
Fax: 61 (2) 9929 6028
Email: info@emarine.com.au

http://www.emarine.com.au