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It’s June 4th, only 16 more days before Maine’s first lobster boat race of the season at Boothbay, followed a day later with a race in Rockland. As is usually the case, there’s no shortage of speculation, with most of the talk having to do with what boats are getting the big engines — big as in a lot of horsepower.

More than one boat is getting its power jacked up to 1,000 horses or better. Tom Clemons, of 4Girls notoriety, finished off what some say is a very lightweight Northern Bay 36. In it will go Whistlin’ Dixie’s 1,000-hp Cat. Whistlin’ Dixie often beat 4Girls in Diesel Free-for-All races, so Clemons knows he’s got a proven piece of iron.

Talk about a big jump in horsepower, Ed Shirley took a 420-hp Sisu out of his 32 Mitchell Cove and dropped in a 1,000-hp Cat C18. Then there’s a Northern Bay 41 being built at Morgan Bay. She’s due to get a 1,200-hp MAN and should be ready for the Boothbay race. All of these boats will be in class L — 901 horsepower and up.

A boat that has never gone too far past the rumor stage was going to be powered with a 3,000-hp gas engine for Jonesport’s Manny Durkee. But that project seems to have been scrapped.

Some people are saying the fastest boat might be the 28-foot Wild Wild West with a 1,050-hp Isotta. Unless of course if Galen Alley’s Foolish Pleasure gets back into racing form. Nobody knows for sure what she has for horsepower but estimates have put it at 2,000 or above.

Will any of these boats break Foolish Pleasure’s 72.8-mph record set at Stonington in 2011? Probably not, but you’ll have to show up to see if it happens.

Visit our Loud Hailer on the NF home page or the Fans of Maine Lobster Boat Racing Facebook page for a look at the full schedule.

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