Bowdoin B. Crowninshield

One of America's most famous and prolific naval architects, B. B. Crowninshield is now best remembered for his working schooners and his America's Cup contender Independence (George Lawley & Son shipyard, 1901).  He was also responsible for designing the Dark Harbor sloop. Born in 1867, Crowninshield grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, as one of four children in a wealthy family with long-standing ties to the sea. After graduating from Harvard in 1890 he speculated in real estate before signing on as a draughtsman with John R. Purdon, a respected yacht designer in Boston with several knockabout designs to his credit.  Crowninshield struck out on his own 18 months later, starting a yacht design and brokerage firm which quickly prospered. He would rise to be come one of America's most respected yacht designers during a period which is now regarded as the golden age of American wooden yacht design. Among other work, he designed the schooner Adventuress.