Radar is top prize in lobster boat competition

JONESPORT — A new FURUNO radar system will be the top prize offered Wednesday at the annual World’s Fastest Lobster Boat Races in Moosabec Reach.

Race chairman Robert Alley of Beals said that FURUNO USA Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif., and Larry and Pam Lounder of Lounder Electronics Inc. of Gouldsboro donated the two-piece, all-weather radar system that was designed specifically for small boats.

Larry Lounder said Friday that the unit featured the latest in radar systems for small boats. It has a built-in collision-avoidance alarm system that can be calibrated to sound a warning alarm when an approaching boat or object comes closer than the distance limit set by the radar operator.

“We are donating this substantial prize because we feel that it should go to the people who have supported us,” he said.

Alley said the Lounders’ continuing support of the championship lobster boat races “demonstrates the Lounders’ appreciation for boat owners who have helped that electronics business grow to become a great resource to fishermen who choose to equip their boats for safety and efficiency of operation.” Last year, the Lounders donated a significant piece of marine electronics.

The chairman said that he and the donors mutually agreed to present the radar system to a licensed commercial fisherman who races his working boat in one or more of eight specific boat races.