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Sixth Annual Maine Lobster Boat Races
by Meaghan Farno for FPT
The nine-harbor circuit includes: Boothbay, Moosebec, Stonington, Searsport, Friendship, Harpswell, Winter Harbor, Pemaquid and the newly added, Rockland Harbor. MLBRA rules limit competing vessels’ dimensions to that of a standard lobster boat hull, made only of wood, fiberglass or aluminum, but fishermen are able to choose the engine that will power their boats to the finish line. Even though choice of engine ultimately comes down to individual preference, it is clear that one marine engine manufacturer has consistently come out on top of its competitors, gaining the reputation as the premier engine of the Lobster Boat Races: Fiat Powertrain Technologies, formerly known as IVECO Motors. The ever-climbing fuel prices of the past year presented the 2008 races with a special challenge. FPT anticipated both rising fuel prices and stricter emissions requirements in their designs. Pairing high performance and reliability on even the stormiest of seas with low emissions and fuel consumption, offering a smaller and lighter size than its competitors and silent running to boot, FPT engines are hard to fault. Upping FPT’s appeal, they can easily be serviced at your local dealer: Journey’s End Marina (Rockland), Kennedy Marine Engineering (Steuben), Donald Jones (Stonington), Winter Island Yacht Yard (Salem), Johnson’s Boat Works (Cranston), Bayside Diesel (Mystic), Jersey Shore Diesel (Brick) and American Marine Tech (Cos Cob) allowing fishermen to indulge in a European engine that can be easily maintained at home. Motor-Services Hugo Stamp, Inc. (MSHS), a sponsor of this year’s races, and FPT distributor, also found it hard to ignore the itch to race themselves. Ray Dipietro, MSHS’s Northeast Sales Manger reports, “Not only were the races fun events to attend but it is also a great opportunity for us to promote our products and support our customers. As the sponsor, we equipped all our boats with flags and t-shirts and handed out a plenty of shirts, hats, stickers, pens and FPT newsletters to the race winners and spectators at all the events.” The summer’s races afforded the MSHS team an intimate forum with the New England boating community. “Depending on the weather conditions, we were able to visit spectators and customers by boat. At Stonington and Friendship this year we were able to take welcome t-shirts to spectators and racers, answering their engine questions, resolving technical problems as well as getting great feedback.” As for promoting the advantages of FPT engines, the outcomes of the races spoke for themselves. “The merit of our engines can be plainly seen in our high placing at this year’s races. Especially at Moosebec and Friendship where both Chris Hutchinson’s Minor Debt and Amanda Joy and Logi Bear with owner Colon Alley and came in first in their division with the help of their FPT engines.” Alley and Hutchinson proved their expertise and the power of their engines by consistently placing highly in various classes throughout the summer. Hutchinson, powered by FPT’s NEF 400, placed 1st at Friendship Harbor’s Diesel Class E race and 2nd in the same class at Rockland. Alley’s performance this summer was equally impressive, placing 1st in the Diesel Class M race at Moosebec, and 2nd in the same class at Winter Harbor. Alley went on to be named 3rd fastest Lobster Boat at Moosebec. This summer was only Alley’s second time competing, Alley admits that he is hooked. Although high gas prices kept him close to home this summer, only traveling to local Moosebec and Winter Harbors, Alley hopes he will be able to expand his racing horizons next year. When building his boat 2 years ago, Alley was faced with a lot of choices at his local Kennedy Marine. It was Roger Kennedy of Kennedy Marine Engineering in Steuben, who urged Alley to consider an FPT engine. “Roger really talked them up. It was a great package but what won me over was the warranty, that was truly outstanding,” Alley explains. Alley reflects that his success the past 2 summers is largely the result of the sheer power of his FPT Cursor 770. “No other engine compares,” Alley insists, “When the speeds of each boat were posted after the races, no one even came close to how fast I was going.” For Chris Hutchinson, this summer marked his third year competing in the MLBRA races. Although Chris tries to fit in three weekends of racing every summer, he admits that his travel arrangements ultimately depend on his fishing schedule, a restriction that often keeps him close to home instead of running the complete nine-port circuit. Last year while building his boat at his father’s shop, Hutchinson Composite, Chris recalls that it was his frequent meetings with MSHS sales rep, Ray Dipietro, which convinced him to install FPT’s NEF 400. Hutchinson notes that the advantages of the NEF 400 are undeniable. “FPT engines are much lighter than the competition. Not only that, but the higher RPMs allow you better speed and acceleration,” Hutchinson explains. Seven other fishermen joined Hutchinson and Alley with FPT-powered lobster boats. Over the course of this summer’s races, these nine competitors placed in the top three spots eight times across six different classes and at four of the nine participating harbors. The consistently high placing of FPT boats at the MLBRA races year after year has not only cemented FPT engines as the fastest marine engine available but more importantly, the most consistent and dependable. With another summer’s racing coming to a close, all of this year’s winners looked forward to the annual awards banquet, which was held this year in Rockland on September 27, and of course, to next year’s races. Motor-Services Hugo Stamp, Inc. and the MLBRA hope to expand the circuit again for the 2009 season, adding a race at Portland as a fundraiser for the National MS Society aiding their search for a cure for multiple sclerosis. |
