August 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 7. The Man Behind WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT
STEUBEN – The lobster boat races this year have sparked new interest with some great races in the fi rst fi ve events of the season. One of the reasons is the new racers that have taken to the course. One of these boats is WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT owned by Roger Kennedy of Kennedy Marine Engineering in Steuben. Roger said, “Well I have always been a bit of a gear head and I guess it just pro- gressed into boat racing because of the line of work I am in. The last couple of years I’ve wanted to build a boat and I wanted to build it from start to fi nish. I also wanted to build a boat that I thought I could go win some boat races with. I didn’t quite know what I wanted, but I knew I wanted a little boat. I am pretty partial to the Calvin hulls so I was looking along those lines. A 28 Northern Bay had been on Craig’s List for six or eight months down to the west’ard. It was one of those deals where someone had high hopes and dreams of building a nice boat and eight years later it was still a hull and top. The money was right, the time was right and I bought it.”
The hull arrived early last fall, but they really did not do much until around Christ- mas. Roger and Todd Pinkham, and Roger’s fi berglass worker, spent six weeks and built the whole boat. Roger added, “In the spring we just fi nished outfi tting it and putting all the pretty parts on. She is powered with an FPT 6.7 560-horse engine and a boat was born.”
Roger says that the engine is “bone- stock” and when she is turning 2,900 rpms she is going 48 mph. He added, “I think the propeller is the key. I’ve been on hundreds of boats that at 35 or 40 mph, it is cavitating. It is jumping and everything is shaking. I took a little extra time to get the right propeller for
the job, and at 50 mph she is just as smooth as she is at 25 mph. Calvin Beal also stopped by a couple of weeks ago and made some suggestions, so of course as soon as he left I turned right around and did everything he said.
2003 when we crossed the line of departure I was right there with bayonet fi xed going with the rest of them. Then the second time I was stationed in Baghdad as part of the collation general staff that kept an eye on all the engineering things. I was up for captain and another four years and didn’t
“Like I said, we are a strong 50-51 mph,” added Roger. “At Stonington I think it was 50.4 when I crossed the barge and I let off her. I’d love to think we can get mid-50s out of her. I guess we’ll see. I don’t want to ruin the streetability, I’ll call it of the set up I have. Right now we could jump in the boat and go to Portland and be as reliable as the car you take to the grocery store.” She does have an interior and that is because at some point she might be for sale. “I built it in mind for some Gloucester tuna fi sherman, or someone from Rhode Island that doesn’t know it yet, but he really needs a 28 Calvin that does 50 mph,” said Roger. Roger grew up 500 feet from his shop, which is on U. S. Route 1, across from H&H Marine in Steuben, where his family has lived almost a century. He is from a fi shing family, his father, grandfather and uncles, all fi sh, but when he left high school he headed to Maine Maritime Academy in Castine to learn engineering. “I did marine engineer operations and unlike all the other smart people I graduated with and went and got big jobs I went into the Marine Corp,” added Roger. “I did that for four years as a combat engineer offi cer. I pretty much camped out in Iraq the entire time. The fi rst time was March 17th
Roger Kennedy of Kennedy Marine Engineering of Steuben.
fi gure that was the best idea since I missed my fi rst child’s birth and I had another one on the way.” Terry Hutchins, who owned H&H Ma- rine, also owned Wayne’s Marine, which was run by Wayne Garland. Roger said, “Wayne bought it I would say late 80s. I came home on leave and I stopped by and talked to him and said “You thinking about selling?” I don’t think he was, but I think
he liked the idea of selling it and hindsight being 20/20 now I see why he sold it because this place is a pain. So he owned it from ’88 to’04 and I guess the rest is history.” When Roger started the only engine line he had was Cummins. He added, “In late ’06 I picked up FTP products, and they turned out to have a real good product and
Continued on Page 24.
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