OnBoard Magazine - Issue XI - Summer 2019

I t’s no secret that the popularity of outboard engines has skyrocketed over the last two decades. Leaps and bounds have been made in design, systems integration and computer technology that has allowed today’s outboard engines to be more efficient, more powerful, cleaner burning and easier to maintain than ever before. Many boat manufacturers who may have once been inboard gas or inboard diesel stalwarts have introduced outboard- powered models recently. Outboard technology has also given birth to a new mega-console and mega-express boat market. FROM SCRATCH Hardly a year has passed since Back Cove unveiled their first outboard-powered model: the 34O (where ‘O’ is for Outboard). Back Cove is not the first inboard diesel boat builder to offer an outboard-equipped model, nor are they the first Downeast-style boat builder to do so. However, Back Cove did not simply plug the holes for the shaft and rudder in their mold to churn out an outboard look-alike of a previous inboard powered model—they started with a clean sheet. “The hull was designed from the keel up to be optimized for the outboard driveline both in terms of performance and weight distribution,” explains Kevin Burns, Back Cove’s Vice President of Design and Product Development. The 34O hull even has a different lamination schedule than inboard- powered Back Cove models: the 34O features a cored topside surface while inboard diesel models have solid topsides. “The hull structure itself has more in common with modern Sabre models due to the performance envelope being similar,” Burns states. Back Cove performs all design work in- house including the construction of their new Outboard model. The design team sources an outside naval architecture consultant just as an independent 'check' on their performance predictions and other parameters. Like other leading boat design firms and manufacturers, Burns and his design team utilize Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate a specific hull form’s handling and performance over a broad range of operation. This powerful software helps to hone the new hull design to near perfection before any physical tooling of prototypes or molds takes place. BACK COVE OFFERS OUTBOARD POWER FROM A CLEAN-SHEET DESIGN The Back Cove 34O has three outboard configuration options Kevin Burns explains the design process 16 BLUEWATER