William "Pappy" Frost

c. 1874-1967

William "Pappy" Frost, a.k.a. "Wizard of Beals," is generally regarded as the originator of the Maine lobster-style boat.

Frost spent his childhood in Whale Cove, Nova Scotia, near Digby. He probably learned boatbuilding at a young age from his father and his grandfathers, who were all known to have been mariners and boatbuilders.

And Frost was growing up at a critical time, when the fishing world was moving from sailpower to motorpower. Young Frost eagerly plunged into this design challenge, creating boats that would best fit the capabilities - and drawbacks - of motorpower.

The results are sleek, smooth-gliding hulls that slice gently through the water with minimum resistance and maximum speed. Even Frost's earliest boats won races all around Nova Scotia. As writer Paul Lazarus stated in a 1989 National Fisherman article:

"Moderately lightweight, high-compression power plants were not available until late in Frost's boatbuilding and designing career. So he paid close attention to improving the efficiency of the underwater, or wetted, surfaces of his hulls."

Around 1912, Will Frost moved his family to Beal's Island, ME. There he continued his illustrious boatbuilding career - his boats are said to have about doubled the speed of any boat in the area. (He is also said to have built anywhere from 700 to 1,000 boats in the course of his life.)

Numerous local builders worked in his shop over the 20 years that he lived on Beal's Island. His design features were rapidly incorporated into the area's boatbuilding culture, crystallizing into the style known as the "Jonesporter" or "Beal's Islander." Paul Lazarus stated in the same article:

"Jonesporters...were an outstanding hull form that Frost was highly influential in developing...seaworthy, fast, & exceptionally good-looking vessels..."