We all know some version of the classic story line that’s been fodder for numerous novels and movies. A young person has a dream—in this case, let’s say to be a professional athlete. They have talent, but they also realize it takes hard work and determination. They put their head down and (as the music swells on the soundtrack), they eventually achieve the impossible.
That’s not John Farrell’s story. To be honest, his is even better.
As a lad, Farrell definitely had a dream and determination. He put his head down, did the hard work, and he had a successful career in professional baseball, first as a pitcher and later as a coach and manager, culminating in a 2013 World Series win at the helm of the Boston Red Sox.
But after all that, Farrell went on to do what he’d really been waiting to do since he was a kid: become a full-time lobsterman.
Now an established member of the fishing fleet in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he’s currently working his second Maine-built lobsterboat, Seaweed, a 50-foot Osmond, finished by Oceanville Boatworks of Stonington, Maine. Yes, Farrell is living that dream.
Born in 1962, Farrell grew up in New Jersey. His father, Tom Farrell, had a budding baseball career of his own in the 1950s. The senior Farrell entered the Cleveland Indians’ farm system out of high school and was headed places as a pitcher until, as John puts it, “a shoulder injury took him out of that world.”
But Tom Farrell (whose nickname was Seaweed) had another passion besides baseball. He’d grown up on the water and knew how to make a living from it. He dug his share of clams, went gillnetting, and eventually built up a gang of lobster gear.
“That’s where it all began for me,” John said. “I began going out lobstering with my dad when I was in third grade—and loved it.”
John Farrell’s a big man, but when he speaks of those days, you can easily picture that little fella in the stern of his father’s boat.
“I’m thankful for that experience,” Farrell said. “I saw my father succeed; I saw him struggle; and he instilled a work ethic in me that carried me through whatever situations I got involved in later in life, baseball being one of them. What I learned from my father back then—about hardships and the work required to get beyond them—has been a blessing.”
Call of the Sea
John Farrell’s fishing roots never let go, no matter how dry the dirt was under his shoes.
“Even as I was pursuing my baseball career, deep down there was a pull that I continued to feel to the water,” he said. “I felt I was going to be able to get back out there at some point.”
Farrell was drafted by the Cleveland Indians upon graduating from college in 1984 and pitched his first major league game for them in ’87. As his playing career evolved, he didn’t have much time to get out on the ocean, but he applied that saltwater work ethic to everything he did.
“During my playing career, I was either in-season or busy training during the off season for the next year. I always correlated that back to what I saw my dad do: there was all the prep work on the beach that needed to be done before you got into the lobster season itself.”
The younger Farrell had his own share of injuries during his years on the mound for Cleveland, the California Angels, and the Detroit Tigers, including two elbow reconstructions. During those recoveries, he put the down time to good use by indulging his love of boats and entertaining some “What if …?” sorts of thoughts by collecting and studying information on the design and construction of Maine lobsterboats.
“I wanted to understand what made a certain hull do a certain thing,” he said.
Farrell finished his playing career in 1996, easily making the transition to the other side of the bench. His skills as a coach and manager eventually led him to Boston, where he served as pitching coach from 2007 to 2010 and manager from 2013 to 2017 (which included two American League division titles and the aforementioned World Series win).
The move to Boston was key to Farrell rekindling his first love: He had access to the ocean once again.
Back Out There
“I really didn’t start to get back on the water until my post-playing career,” Farrell said. “When I ended up in Boston as a pitching coach, I’d escape down to the Cape in the morning and get out on the water, then head back to town for the afternoon. I did that whenever I could.
“One of the things that drew me back was the physicality of the work—I love it,” he said. “I’ve always respected anyone who has made a life of it.”
At that point, Farrell was simply enjoying being out there, fishing 10 traps out of a skiff. But all that research he’d been doing on Maine lobsterboats was in his head for a reason. When his tour of duty with the Red Sox concluded at the end of the 2017 season, Farrell focused on lobstering full-time.
His first “big league” workboat was a 46-foot Mussel Ridge from Hutchinson Composites in Cushing, Maine, launched in 2019. Farrell soon proved himself to be as serious about lobstering as he’d been about baseball. He went hard, earning the respect of his fellow fishermen.
While his 46-footer was “a great boat,” Farrell said he couldn’t help but admire fellow Gloucester lobsterman Don Lowe’s Anne Rowe, a 50-foot by 19-foot-2-inch Osmond, finished by local craftsman Kyle Grant.
“As we spent more time fishing farther offshore, I was very impressed by Don’s boat,” said Farrell. “The way she handled the weather, the ability to carry bigger amounts of gear, the speed—even when loaded—it was apparent it was a great setup for where we were fishing.”
Which led Farrell to look into having one for himself.
An Osmond from Oceanville
While he knew his next boat would start as an Osmond 50 hull and molded top from H&H Marine in Steuben, Maine (see “The Osmond Evolution,” below), Farrell needed to choose a finish shop for the project. He’d been keeping tabs on Oceanville Boatworks in Stonington, Maine since 2016, when partners Dale Haley and Tim Staples launched the 46-foot Rock Bottom, the first finish project out of their then-brand-new shop.
While their facility might have been new, Haley and Staples were already veterans of their craft at that point. Haley had worked at Billings Diesel in Stonington for 27 years, while Staples’s history dated back to the mid-1970s and the early days of Duffy & Duffy, and included tours of duty at Atlantic Boat and Hinckley Yachts.
“Tim and I had always gotten along great since we first met,” said Haley. “We ended up doing a few jobs working out of fish boxes and renting space—and we really liked working together. That’s when we decided to get serious about it.”
Haley modestly described his partner as “the real craftsman. I know how to make things look good, but Timmy’s full of ideas and knows how to make them happen.”
Working with a small crew, Haley and Staples have turned out an impressive run of boats, both new and rebuilt or repowered. The addition of Tim’s son, Dwight—a definite chip off the same block—to help run the shop has only upped their game.
In early 2024, Farrell took a trip up to South Bristol, Maine, to take a ride on a 48-foot Mussel Ridge built by Oceanville. “That was a very impressive boat,” he said. One more visit to Maine sealed the deal; after looking over the 50-foot Katherine Pennington, an Osmond 50 launched by Oceanville in 2023, Farrell had no doubts about his finish shop.
Making Seaweed
Farrell’s new 50-footer, with the sheer raised 6 inches from standard, and molded house/deck unit made the trip via trailer from H&H Marine to Billings Diesel in Stonington to receive its main engine and 3-inch drivetrain. Fellow lobsterman Lowe’s Anne Rowe also provided inspiration for the diesel: a D16 Volvo Penta (rated 750-hp at a slow-turning 1,900 rpm) matched to a 2.47:1 ZF 500-1A transmission.
The experience at Billings Diesel set the precedent for the project communications-wise, Farrell said. “From Greg Sanborn at Billings to Dale, Tim, and Dwight, once the boat was at Oceanville—along with Eric Smith and the crew at Long Cove Marine, who came in to do all the wiring and hydraulics—everyone was great about communicating. I’d make regular trips up to Stonington during the process, but there’s a lot to a project like this. Everyone was fantastic to work with.”
The feeling was mutual, said Haley. “John was awesome to work for. And the funny thing was, I didn’t know anything about the Red Sox connection when he was first talking with us. It wasn’t until after he’d given us a down payment that I found out and told him, ‘My father’s probably rolling over in his grave right now, as he was a big Red Sox fan—and I didn’t recognize you.’ John laughed; he was just a regular guy—a great guy, actually.”
Another member of the Oceanville Boatworks extended family who is a regular contributor to their projects is KB Welding, which handled the project’s extensive metal fabrication, including a custom hydraulic tailgate. The tailgate takes the place of the standard fiberglass transom from the deck up and can be raised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic arms that are controlled from the wheelhouse. It gets lowered while fishing, making it easier to set traps off the stern.
Seaweed’s 40-inch-by-40-inch, four-bladed Ahoy prop proved to be right on the money at sea trials, providing the 50-footer with a 15-knot cruise speed at 1,600 rpm, while burning 22 gallons of fuel per hour. Top speed is 19 knots.
The 19-foot-2-inch beam and wide-open work deck make for plenty of room for traps. “We’ve had 200 on with no problem,” Farrell said. “I think you could stack 240 on her comfortably.”
Seaweed was launched this past December. After a few months of winter hauling, Farrell reported the beamy Osmond to be everything he hoped she’d be as a sea boat: “It’s a very stable boat,” he said. “Where you really notice it is how you feel at the end of the day.”
You’d have to think that Tom “Seaweed” Farrell would consider his son’s new boat to be a true home run.
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Brian Robbins’ past lives include years as an offshore lobsterman and editor for Commercial Fisheries News.
The Osmond Evolution
Trace the family tree of the Osmond 50 back far enough and you’ll find the Osmond 42.
For years, H&H Marine’s 42-foot-by-15-foot-3-inch model was the biggest hull in its stable of Osmond Beal designs. Customer interest in a beamier version eventually inspired them to offer the 42-footer in widths up to 17 feet, 6 inches. H&H would spread the halves of the two-piece hull mold after laying up the keel section to increase the beam.
The extra-wide Osmond 42 was a popular option, but it wasn’t long before H&H had customers (primarily lobstermen working farther offshore) looking for even more deck room.
The birthing of the Osmond 47 was all about H&H owner Eric Moores’ eye, courage, and talents with a Sawzall. The process, which began with a wide 42-foot hull, was a massive undertaking that involved a lot of cutting, spreading, realigning, splicing, and fairing. But the end result, a 47-foot-4-inch-by-19-foot-2-inch plug to take a new mold from was impressive, and satisfied the requests for a jumbo hull with Beals Island roots.
Until the inevitable “Can you make it a little longer?” question was asked.
H&H Marine has the process of adding 3 feet to the 47’s run back aft down to a science (while leaving the sternpost/skeg/rudder untouched). They’ll also raise the sheer to the customer’s liking. John Farrell’s Osmond 50 is also cored from the main bulkhead forward to make for a dry fo’c’sle.
The day of our photo shoot in Gloucester for this feature, a number of local fishermen happened to be on hand. They were all veteran skippers who’ve seen their share of green water.
The consensus on Seaweed? “A beautiful beast.”
