1995 Jimmy Steele 14’ Downeast Peapod “Ponytail”
Lent by Museum member Donald Tofias, Sparkman & Stephens, Newport RI
Traditional Rowing vessel built for lobster fishing and recreational use
Maine Built and Designed
Plank over Frame Construction
Built with either Carvel or Lapstrake Planks over Oak Ribs
The Downeast Peapod is a small wood craft with a design reaching back to the late 1800s and was used primarily for shallow-water lobster fishing along the Maine Coast. Set up for rowing, the double-ended design enabled the boat to be rowed easily in either direction and was typically rowed while standing by working fishermen. Several builders and locations in Maine have been credited for the initial lines of the boat, but it was widely copied and re-created in several lengths and materials over its many decades. One of the most prolific builders of the craft in the past 40 years was James “Jimmy” Steele of Penobscot Bay, Maine, producing over 380 examples. The boat presented here is one of the later boats built by Steele and is built in the traditional plank-over-frame construction, with the carvel (smooth-sided) planks bent and affixed to the ribs using copper rivets. Unique to its double-ended design is the height of the bow and the stern are identical, but unlike a canoe, the Peapod used a center line keel or wood spine down the center of the craft which gave the boat its shape.
The double ender’s name derives from the symmetrical shape with a pointed bow and stern resembling a pea pod. With a very low draft, the boats were often used by lobstermen to set their traps among the rocks in shallow waters along the coastline. Some even would rig small sails that would allow the live lobsters to be transported quickly to shore so they would stay fresh all the way to market. The boats had enough stability to allow the fishermen to set and haul their traps but had low sides, known as “freeboard,” which made it easier for traps to be hoisted by hand on board. Most Peapods were built in lengths ranging from 13 to 17 feet and could accommodate 3 or 4 adults or one lobsterman and many traps.
As Peapods grew in popularity, they were also sought out by lighthouse keepers who needed transportation back and forth to shore before engines were available to power small craft. The double-ended design meant that the boat could be hauled easily onto a ramp or shoreline where tides would often run 10 feet or more but didn’t require turning the boat around to launch and the high bow and stern could cut through the waves in both directions.
“Ponytail” is shown with painted topsides and a natural oil-finished interior. Knowing that most modern Peapods are used as recreational rowing and yacht tenders, Steele would offer the boats to cost-conscious buyers with various finishes that he equated to automobile marques to show the quality of finish: A “Chevy” model would be painted inside, and out, the “Cadillac” had varnished gunwales, bow and stern posts, and the “Rolls” would be finely varnished throughout the interior.
This boat is on loan by Sparkman and Stephens Co. of Newport, who continue to build modern Peapods to the identical dimensions as Jimmy Steele but using strip-planked construction to save weight.
Specifications:
Length Overall: 13’ 8”
Beam: 4’