After graduating from Harvard, he speculated in real estate before signing on as a draftsman 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 become one of America's most respected yacht designers during a period which is now regarded as the golden age of American wooden yacht design.
He designed the schooner Adventuress, which was launched in 1913 and has been named a National Historic Landmark.[5]
Crowninshield is now best remembered for his working schooners and his America's Cup contender Independence (George Lawley & Son shipyard, 1901) for Thomas W. Lawson. He was also responsible for designing the iconic Dark Harbor 12 1/2 and 17 1/2 sloops.[6] He served as president and general manager of Crowninshield Shipbuilding Company of Fall River, Massachusetts from 1917 to 1926.[7][8] The shipyard built the "Six-Bitters" CG-130 through CG-139 for the United States Coast Guard (CG-133 would later serve as USS YP-45 during World War II).[9][10]
He designed the unique seven masted schooner Thomas W. Lawson, named for his patron.[4]
Personal life
He married Priscilla Janet McPhail (1869–1915) on May 12, 1900.[11] In 1902, he was fined and was sued for $10,000 for assaulting Adolphus G. McVey,[12] the yachting editor of the Boston Herald, for a remark about his wife.[13][14] After nine years, he was ordered to pay $448.[15][16] His wife was found dead in a bathtub of a Boston hotel on October 8, 1915. She was checked in as "Mrs. Bowdoin", but the death was ruled accidental.[17] Together, they were the parents of:
William Widlar Crowninshield (1909–1987),[4] who married Muriel Adese Longton (1915–2002).[18]
In 1916, he married Laura A. Wildar (1877–1952), daughter of Leonard John Wildar. Laura had previously been married to Charles T. Long, whom she divorced in August 1915.[19]
Crowninshield died August 12, 1948, in Marblehead.[4]
^James P. Deleado (July 9, 1988). "Adventuress nomination form". National Register of Historic Places. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^Maynard Bray (January 1, 1997). "Three Knockabouts". In Peter H. Spectre (ed.). 100 Boat Designs Reviewed: Design Commentaries by the Experts. WoodenBoat Books. pp. 52–55. ISBN978-0-937822-44-9.
