Description
The Oregon Peapod (also called the Oregon Pod or Oregon Beach Peapod) is a contemporary 13 ft 6 in fiberglass rowing/sailing tender designed in the late 1980s by Oregon boatbuilder and designer Gary Moore as a West Coast adaptation of the classic Maine peapod. Built by Oregon Marine (later sold to Gig Harbor Boat Works, which still offers it in 2025), the hull is an almost exact copy of the traditional Lowell-style peapod: pronounced wineglass transom, lapstrake-look exterior, fine entry, and gentle rocker, but molded in rugged hand-laid fiberglass with built-in flotation and a non-skid sole.
Weighing about 160–170 lbs., it is light enough to car-top or flip upside-down on a beach, yet stiff and buoyant enough to carry four adults safely. Standard configuration is a two-station sliding-seat rowing setup with carbon spoon oars, but a very popular sailing kit adds a 62 sq ft balanced-lug or sprit sail on an unstayed carbon mast, a pivoting leeboard, and a kick-up rudder. The sailing version is notably quick and close-winded for a peapod, planes readily downwind, and remains stable thanks to its 5 ft 2 in beam and low center of effort.
Gig Harbor Boat Works has built several hundred since taking over production in the early 2000s, offering it in a range of colors and with options like built-in wheels, custom covers, and even an electric-trolling-motor well. It is one of the most common and beloved small beach boats on the Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia coasts, where owners use them for exploring shallow bays, river mouths, and the inside passage.
