Kraft Power is selling Nanni engines throughout the U.S. and offering good deals for fishermen who want the quality of Toyota and Scania blocks at a reduced price.
“We’re selling Nannis all over,” says Anthony Cahill, Nanni sales ngineer at Kraft Power in Woburn, Mass. Cahill notes that on the Kraft Power web page, they highlight an 800 hp Nanni – the N13.800 that Freeport Diesel installed in a Maine lobster boat.
“That’s the Jackpot,” says Cahill “Out of Cape Elizabeth. That engine was installed by Freeport Diesel in Maine.”
Nanni engines come out of France, Cahill notes, where the company marinizes Kubota, Toyota, and Scania blocks. “It’s a small family-owned company,” says Cahill. “You call, and you talk to the owners. Their factory is on the Atlantic coast, west of Bordeaux.”
According to Cahill, the N13.800 is built on a Scania block. “Nanni buys the Scania and adds the cooling system and exhaust system,” he says. “They also add an integrated gear cooler.”
The Nanni engines are showing up all over the U.S. “Most of our sales are on the Atlantic side – lobster boats, tuna boats, and scallop boats – but we sent a T8V.370 up to Alaska along with a Hamilton jet for a small seiner. That one is built on a Toyota block, as is the T8V. And Ivan Basargin in Homer bought an N13 for one of his boats.”
Basargin plans to put the N13 in his propeller-driven Bristol Bay boat. In late May, the engine was still sitting on a pallet in Basargin’s Homer shop, along with an attached ZF360 gear with a 1.5:1 ratio. “I’ll get it in by the end of June for the Bristol Bay season,” he says.
He notes that he chose Nanni because he wants Scania quality at a better price, and according to Cahill, Nanni engines can come in at prices 10 to 15 percent lower than the competition. “That’s with a standard two-year warranty, and an option for another year's warranty on the block,” he says.
The best engine is only as good as the service, and Cahill points out that as sales expand, that’s where Nanni is putting its focus. “We stock most common parts at our New Jersey warehouse,” he says. “And we have a warehouse near Atlanta, so we send parts anywhere overnight. Our dealers like Journey’s End in Rockland and Freeport Diesel can service the engines.” Streit notes that although Nanni is still a relatively new brand, they are gaining ground. “People who know Nanni trust them,” he says.
In Maine, many engines are proven in the annual lobster boat races, and Nanni engines have driven a couple of winners across the finish line. “Chip Johnson won in the under 26-foot class with a T4 270-horsepower engine,” says Cahill. “And Jeremy Beal won a race with an N13, I’m not sure what class.”
With fuel and bait prices rising, there are some belts tightening in Maine’s lobster industry, which may prompt more fishermen to consider the Nanni engines.
