Photography by Denis Dowling
In the mid-19th century, Maine’s lobstering industry was just beginning to take shape. Lobster, once a common fare for the poor and even collected by prisoners from the shore, did not become a valued delicacy until the early 1800s. By the 1840s Maine supported its first commercial lobster fishery, and with that shift came a demand for boats built specifically to harvest crustaceans from the state’s rocky, nearshore waters. Among the workboats that emerged in response was the peapod.
Peapods appeared around 1870 as practical nearshore lobstering and fishing boats. One common origin story places their development in Owls Head on Penobscot Bay, where the design was called a double-ender; on the mainland the name peapod became widespread. These boats are recognizable by their symmetrical hulls, shallow drafts, and sturdy plank-on-frame construction—features that made them ideal for working close to rocky ledges and tight shorelines.
Typically 13.5 to 15 feet long, though some early models reached 20 feet, peapods were built with cedar planking and oak frames, either clinker-built or carvel-planked. Their double-ended shape allowed lobstermen to row equally well forward and backward, a crucial advantage when maneuvering in and out of crevices where turning the boat around was impossible.
“The whole reason for the design is that when you’re lobstering, you’re rowing in and out of rocky crevices. There’s not enough room to rotate the boat 180 degrees to get back out,” says Cipperly Good, curator at the Penobscot Marine Museum. “With a double-ender, you can row as easily forward and backwards. You just turn yourself around and row the other direction.”
Peapods were built to be tough and stable so fishermen could haul pots and traps without capsizing. Many early versions were rowed while standing to give the oarsman a better view of the buoys and ledges; later working models often combined a standing station for visibility with a seated station for pulling traps. The design’s practicality and simplicity made peapods popular across Maine—many people could build one themselves, though some skilled builders developed signature models.
Captain Havilah Hawkins Sr. produced a 13.5-foot model beginning in 1954 from a mill in Brooksville, building dozens over a decade. In 1964 Jimmy Steele purchased Hawkins’ design and refined it, ultimately producing an estimated 178 peapods between 1964 and 2007 under the Downeast Peapod name. Steele adjusted the sheer and added more hollow in the bow over time, and he offered three main models: the Chevrolet (all-painted), the Cadillac (varnished sheer and seats), and the Rolls (an all-varnished interior).
Steele’s approach modernized production without sacrificing the classic form. He introduced mechanized tools in his Brooklin shop to increase output, making between three and five boats a year on average, and peaking at around a dozen in some years. As the lobstering industry industrialized—requiring more traps and larger vessels—peapods transitioned from working boats to recreational tenders and dinghies, prized for their sea-kindly design and efficient rowing.
Maine’s feeder races, which require sailboats to tow a dinghy, helped popularize the Downeast Peapod as a tender of choice. “Mimi Steadman came up with the slogan that the Downeast Peapod rows quick and tows slick,” says Donald Tofias, owner of Sparkman & Stephens and current steward of the peapod line. “There’s hardly any wetted surface, so you’re not dragging a lot of boat through the water.”
Tofias, an owner and restorer of classic sailing yachts, continues to use a Jimmy Steele Downeast Peapod named Ponytail as a tender. After buying the Downeast Peapod company from Steele in 2007, he partnered with builders at Brooklin Boat Yard, the Landing School, and more recently facilities in Bristol, Rhode Island, to keep the tradition alive. In 2018 he purchased Sparkman & Stephens and has since led efforts to refine the construction while honoring the original lines.
Traditional peapods were riveted plank-on-frame boats, often weighing more than 200 pounds. The exposed rivets were a practical necessity but detracted from the clean appearance of the hull. Tofias proposed an update: scan the classic hull shape and reproduce it using cold-molded wooden construction. Cold-molding allows strip planking to be glued and clamped to the frames without external rivets, and it reduces the number of ribs by roughly 75 percent.
Sparkman & Stephens has completed the first cold-molded Downeast Peapod and is building a second. The new version preserves the original shape but weighs less than half as much as the plank-on-frame boats, making it easier to handle, lift aboard, and stow. The new model measures 13’8” with a 4’8” beam and seats four adults comfortably.
The updated construction uses strip planking reinforced with fiberglass, locust frames, cherry stringers, and cherry seats and floorboards. Optional equipment includes extra oarlocks, a second rowing station, stand-up oarlocks reminiscent of the earliest workboats, lifting rings, and a gunwale guard. Tofias expects Sparkman & Stephens can produce up to two dozen peapods annually.
Unlike Steele’s variety of finishes, Sparkman & Stephens plans to sell primarily bright peapods sealed with clear epoxy so owners can choose to leave them natural, varnish them, or paint them. “I think it’s incredibly attractive to have it all varnished or clear-coated,” Tofias says. “There are of course no rivets. I love natural wood; I always have.”
Although rowboats are no longer the primary platform for hauling lobster traps, peapods remain an enduring part of Maine’s maritime culture. They perform well as racing tenders, family dinghies, and teaching boats—ideal for introducing children to rowing and teamwork. “Kids can learn teamwork and how to row together,” Tofias notes, suggesting grandparents often buy two so every generation can have its own boat.
Peapods have found a renewed recreational life that preserves their working-boat heritage while bringing the design to new generations. With modern cold-molded construction and careful stewardship by Sparkman & Stephens, the Downeast Peapod continues to shine in regattas and on family outings alike. “There are a lot of imitators,” Tofias says, “but there is only one Downeast Peapod.”
This article was originally published in the June 2021 issue.