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William Frost 1874 - 1967      USA

One of the strongest influences in the evolution of the Maine lobsterboat type was William Frost. He was born at Whale Cove, Digby Neck, Nova Scotia to a family that built schooners. He built his first boat in the 1890’s. He came to the United States around 1900, and didn’t stay long, but in 1909 his house in Nova Scotia burned and three years later he moved to Beals Island, Maine.

There is probably no one who has influenced the design of the state of Maine lobster boat more than Frost. He brought with him the plumb bow, strong sheer, flat (skeg built) bottom, and the cut-off stern design which in combination became known as the Jonesporter type.

Most of Frost’s early boats had a torpedo stern, whose origin is in question. Later the type was influenced by the increasing horsepower of the engines. The hulls stayed long and thin, but the underbody became wider and flatter on the run back to the stern. Frost utilized a reverse curve in the bottom, making the boat faster and steadier, and stopping the hull from pounding. His fame began when he built a series of successful rumrunners and then the boats that chased them.

During the Great Depression, Frost moved to Tiverton, Rhode Island to find work. He later went to work in the design office of Eldredge-McInnis and John G. Alden, a partnership formed for military work during the war. Following World War II Frost returned to the Portland area and continued designing and building commercial and pleasure boats. Frost retired in the 1950’s.

Written by: Jon B. Johansen Excerpted from "Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers", ed. Lucia del Sol Knight, Daniel Bruce MacNaughton