Back Cove 30 for Sale, a Used Buyer's Guide to the Single-Diesel Downeaster

Back Cove 30 for sale, and what the listing really means

Anyone searching for a Back Cove 30 for sale is shopping a boat that Back Cove stopped building about a decade ago, so every example has six to fifteen seasons on it. That is not a warning. The 30 came from the Rockland, Maine, company that also owns Sabre, it uses a single diesel and a bow thruster, and it was laid up with vacuum resin infusion when many 30-footers were still hand-laminated. A well-kept 30 ages gracefully.

The 30 arrived in 2010 to replace the Back Cove 29, a boat Yachting says sold 205 hulls between 2003 and 2009. In the summer of 2016 Back Cove launched the 32 and told Power and Motoryacht it was letting the 30 and 34 rest while it concentrated on the new boat. The 30 never came back, which means the production run is short and tidy: roughly 2010 to 2016 model years, all on the same hull.

What the market calls a 30 is actually a 30-foot 6-inch hull. With the swim platform and bow pulpit the overall length is 33 feet 11 inches on the original brochure and 34 feet 2 inches on Back Cove's current heritage page. Budget for a 34-foot slip, not a 30-foot one.

Nine inches of beam and a transom door, the upgrades over the 29

BoatTEST's launch report is the clearest summary of what Back Cove changed. The 30 is a foot longer than the 29, nine inches beamier at 11 feet 2 inches, and about 2,000 pounds heavier at an estimated 12,000 pounds full. Fuel and water capacity each grew by about 10 gallons. The extra beam paid for a forward-facing companion bench on the port side of the helm deck and a short sofa behind it, so three people can watch the water ahead instead of one.

Just as important for daily use, the 29 had no transom door and the 30 does, an outward-opening door that keeps the cockpit sole clear. The whole helm-deck sole rises on a hydraulic lift to expose the engine, a far better arrangement than the access hatches on the 29. The bow gained a spoon shape with more flare, secondary spray rails were added, and the transom picked up a touch of tumblehome. The result looks softer than a working lobster boat and noticeably drier in a chop.

• Hull length 30 feet 6 inches, beam 11 feet 2 inches, draft about 2 feet 8 inches
• Estimated full-load displacement 12,000 pounds
• 160 gallons of diesel, 60 gallons of water, 30-gallon holding tank per the Back Cove brochure
• Air draft 8 feet 8 inches, low enough for many fixed bridges on the ICW

Kevin Burns's hull: reverse chines, a prop pocket and 16 degrees aft

Back Cove head designer Kevin Burns described the 30 as a study in balance, and the hull shows it. The bottom is a vee with downward-turning chines forward that help the boat climb onto plane with little bow rise, then flattens to 16 degrees of deadrise at the transom. The single propeller runs in a shallow pocket, which reduces both draft and shaft angle, so the boat draws well under three feet and the prop pushes more horizontally.

Construction is VIP resin infusion with PVC foam coring in the hull and end-grain balsa in the deck, according to BoatTEST. Inside, the joinery is varnished American cherry with a teak-and-holly sole. There is little exterior teak to maintain, and the interior wood responds well to a light sand and fresh varnish, which is why a 30 still shows well years later.

Speed and fuel with the 370 hp Yanmar

BoatTEST ran a 30 with the optional 370 hp Yanmar 8LV turning a 20 by 24 propeller through a 2.13 to 1 gear in calm water with three-quarters fuel. It reached 28.3 knots at 3,800 rpm burning 18.7 gph, and the sweet spot sat around 3,000 rpm, where the boat made 20.2 knots on 10.5 gph, about 1.9 nautical miles per gallon and roughly 284 nautical miles of range. Time to plane was 7.4 seconds.

Back Cove's own claim for the standard 320 hp 8LV was a 26.7-knot top end with a 20-knot cruise, and the original brochure promised an average burn of about 5 gph across a typical day of mixed running. Those figures line up with the test: below plane at 8 to 9 knots the boat sips 2 to 3 gph, and owners who potter around the harbor will see far lower averages than the cruise number suggests.

The engine choice changes the top end by a knot or two, not the character of the boat. A 315 or 320 hp boat cruises at 20 knots without strain; the 370 and 380 hp options add margin when the boat is loaded with family, water and a hardtop.

Helm deck, cockpit and a cabin for two

Life aboard happens on the helm deck. The skipper sits in a single adjustable helm seat (Arrigoni standard, Stidd optional), the companion bench faces forward to port, and in the original layout the port settee and mate's seat convert into an L-shaped dinette around an inlaid table. At night that settee can serve as an extra berth. Forward panels of the side windows slide open and the center windshield panel opens too. An aft curtain was a dealer option, and a factory hard enclosure was available for owners who wanted a three-season boat.

The cockpit has corner lounges on each side of the transom door with stowage beneath, good for socializing but short on room for fishing. A swim platform with hot and cold shower was standard.

Below, the cabin is honest about its size. A dinette with a small table forward converts to V-berths about 76 inches long or a double about 79 inches long, there is 76 inches of headroom, a hanging locker, a galley with a dual-voltage refrigerator, single-burner alcohol and electric cooktop and microwave, and an enclosed head with a freshwater toilet and 72.5 inches of headroom. A couple can weekend aboard comfortably. A family of four will be camping.

Yanmar 6LP, Yanmar 8LV or Volvo D6

Early boats were offered with a 315 hp Yanmar 6LP as standard, with a 380 hp Yanmar 6LY and Volvo Penta D6 options at 330 and 370 hp. By the mid-2010s the standard engine was Yanmar's 320 hp 8LV common-rail diesel, with a 370 hp 8LV or 370 hp D6 as options. All of them drive a conventional shaft and propeller, so there is no sterndrive or pod to service.

On the used market, the 8LV boats are the newest and usually the most expensive, and the electronic common-rail engine is quieter and cleaner than the older mechanical-injection 6LP. The 6LP is a well-proven engine that many independent yards understand. Volvo D6 inboards are common and parts are easy to find. More than the badge, look at hours, service records, and whether the heat exchanger, aftercooler and raw-water pump have been serviced on schedule.

A realistic yearly budget

A single diesel and a modest fuel tank keep the 30 cheaper to run than twin-engine express cruisers of similar length. At 10 to 11 gph at a 20-knot cruise, a season of 100 engine hours with much of it at speed works out to around 800 to 1,000 gallons of diesel, and less for owners who mix in slow cruising.

Budget roughly $12,000 to $25,000 a year for slip or mooring, insurance, storage, bottom paint, engine service, canvas and varnish, with Northeast heated storage at the top of that range. Over a decade the big items are the engine cooling system, the helm-deck lift, enclosure panels and electronics.

How the 30 holds value next to the newer 32

Back Cove resale has always been strong because the boats are understated, built in Maine and backed by a builder that still exists and still supports its heritage models. The 30 benefits from that and from the fact that the 32 that replaced it was larger and pricier; Soundings listed the 32 at $320,000 with a 370 hp Volvo in 2016. For buyers who want a Back Cove under about $250,000, the 30 is the natural entry point after the 26 and 29.

Expect the best prices for late boats with low hours, a factory hardtop or enclosure, a stern thruster and updated electronics.