Feeney Boat Shop in Cutler, Maine, finished two lobster boats for local fishermen at the end of 2021 — the Hurricane Indie, a 42 Mitchell Cove for Andrew Hall; and the Crustacean Hunter, a 35 Mitchell Cove for Keenan Feeney.
“It’s the first (Mitchell Cove) 42 ever,” says the boatshop’s Bruce Feeney. Feeney Boat Shop has the Mitchell Cove 20, 32, 35 and 37 molds. To build the 42-footer, a 35 hull was sliced into five pieces that were then rearranged and joined together to form the new 42' 6" x 16' Mitchell Cove hull. (The standard 35 Mitchell Cove measures 35' x 13’.)
The 42-footer is all composite construction.
“He had no wood in it at all,” says Feeney. Beyond that, Feeney describes the Hurricane Indie as “an old school lobster boat” with nothing under the deck and a V-berth forward. Bolted to the engine stringers is a 800-hp 13-liter Scania that pushed the Hurricane Indie to a top speed a little over 30 knots.
“He was very happy with that,” says Feeney.
Asked if he thought Hall would be racing the boat in Maine’s lobster boat races this summer, Feeney said he didn’t know. But if he did, “he’d give guys a good run for their money.”
Regarding the origin of the boat’s name — Hurricane Indie — Feeney says it’s also the name of Hall’s daughter, whom he describes as “a young little thing and quite wild.”
The 35 Mitchell Cove, the Crustacean Hunter, was built for Feeney’s son over a two-year period.
“We were picking away on it over the last couple of years between all the repairs and other projects,” he says.
The Crustacean Hunter is also a totally composite constructed hull. Feeney acknowledges that composite construction costs more money to build, “but a lot of guys are really liking it.”
The Crustacean Hunter’s engine is a 660-hp C12 Cat that with the throttle all the way down gets the Mitchell Cove 35 “to almost 38 knots. She moves,” Feeney emphasizes.
