Ed Monk

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George Edwin William Monk (a.k.a. Ed Monk, Sr.) (Jan 1, 1894 - Port Blakely, Washington,[1] to Jan 21, 1973) was a shipwright and naval architect in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He was active from 1914 to 1973. He designed pleasure and commercial vessels, both power and sail.

MV Savona, a 40' bridge-deck cruiser, moored at South Lake Union, Seattle, WA, an example of an Ed Monk, Sr., boat design, from 1942.
MV King Gustaf, a 36' bridge-deck cruiser, moored at Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes, WA, an example of an Ed Monk, Sr., boat design, from 1952.
MV Thunderbird, 40', an example of an Ed Monk, Sr., boat design, from 1959.

Shipwright, 1914 to 1925[edit]

Ed Monk, Sr., began his boat building career in 1914[2]: 2  as an apprentice working on Robert Moran's schooner San Juan, under construction on Orcas Island.[3] In 1915, Monk worked with his father again in St. Helens, OR, building The City of Portland, "one of the largest wooden freighters ever built."[4] He continued to work for his father at Meacham and Babcock, a boatyard started in Seattle, WA, during World War I to build twelve wooden freighters for the US Government.[2]: 2–3  During this time, he became more interested in designing boats and began studying toward that end.[4] Meacham and Babcock closed in 1919. Monk continued to work at various boatyards in Seattle and eventually found his way to the Blanchard Boat Co. in 1925. He was hired as a shipwright, but soon began to design small boats.[2]: 2–3  His first large cruiser design, the 62 foot motor yacht Silver King, was built there in 1925[5]: 12–14 

Naval architect, 1925 to 1973[edit]

At Blanchard Boat Co., Monk got to know the naval architect L. E. "Ted" Geary and in 1926, Geary hired Monk as a draftsman.[2]: 5 [6] In 1930, Monk followed Geary to Long Beach, CA.[2]: 9 [6] In 1933, Monk quit working directly for Geary and moved back to Washington state.[6] Monk maintained his association with Geary as his local representative.[2]: 13 

Monk began his independent career as a naval architect by designing and building his "Plan No. 1," the 50 ft. bridge-deck cruiser Nan, which became his home for seven years, moored at the Seattle Yacht Club,[2]: 14  and was briefly his office.[6] His designs were built by many of the Pacific Northwest builders like Blanchard Boat Co., Grandy Boat Co., Jensen Motor Boat, Chambers and Franck, Forder Boatworks, McQueen Boat Works, and Tollycraft among others.[2]: 5, 70, 85, 123 [4]

Ed Monk, Sr., wrote two books on boat building:

  1. Monk, Edwin, Small Boat Building, 1934, revised 1947, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
  2. Monk, Edwin, Modern Boat Building, 1939, revised 1949 and 1973,[7] published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York

Monk designed commercial vessels which included tugs[8]: 622  and cargo carriers.[9]: 77  He also designed the "Super Shrimp Trapper (SST)" Mimi for Ivar Haglund, launched in 1967.[9]: XLI 

Monk continued to design boats up until his death in 1973 at the age of 79.[2]: 142  He had "produced more than 3,000 boat designs ranging from 6 foot dinghies to yachts and workboats in the 150 foot range."[9]: 153 

Ed Monk, Sr., designed and built both sailboats & powerboats:

Sailing Yachts
  1. Aries, 50 feet, launched 1941
  2. Mariner III, 42 feet, launched 1941
  3. Symra, 43 feet, launched 1941
  4. Cumulus, 26 feet, launched 1947
  5. Bendora, launched 1948
  6. Halcyon II, launched 1948
  7. Netha, 45 feet, launched 1936
  8. Madwenowe, launched 1967
  9. Mikay IV, 46 feet, launched 1959
  10. Moonraker, 50 feet, launched 1962
  11. Sea Witch, 29 feet, launched 1939
  12. Moonsail, 32 feet, launched 1946
Motor Yachts
The Carol M., designed by Ed Monk and built in 1948 by Grandy Boat Works on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington.
30' overall length, 40' deck, 11' beam, 3' draft
  1. Ann Saunders, 32 feet, launched 1926[2]: 5–6 
  2. Nan, 50 feet, launched 1934[2]: 12–17 
  3. Port Madison Gal, 24 feet, launched c. 1940[2]: 36 
  4. Western Maid I, 40 feet, launched 1946[2]: 57 
  5. Western Maid II, 42 feet, launched 1947[2]: 57 
  6. Duffy, 35 feet, launched 1950[2]
  7. Alerion, 42 feet, launched c. 1952[2]: 70 
  8. Whim, 37 feet, launched c. 1957[2]: 94 
  9. Tatoosh, 40 feet, launched 1959[2]: 97 
  10. Nika Sia, 46 feet, launched 1965[2]: 125 
  11. Tryphena, 50 feet, launched 1970[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ed Monk and the Tradition of Classic Boats by Bet Oliver, pg. 1
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oliver, Bet (1998). Ed Monk and the Tradition of Classic Boats. Victoria, BC, Canada: Horsdal & Schubart Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-920663-60-5.
  3. ^ Josef Scaylea (15 Apr 1962). "He Carries On a Long Tradition in Boats". Seattle Times. p. 27.
  4. ^ a b c Knight & MacNaughton, Lucia del Sol & Daniel B. (2006). Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers. New York: WW Norton & Co., Inc. p. 315. ISBN 0-393-04876-4.
  5. ^ Blanchard and Wilen, Norman and Stephen (1999). Knee Deep in Shavings. Victoria, BC, Canada: Horsdal & Schubart Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-920663-63-X.
  6. ^ a b c d RH Calkins (24 Apr 1935). "From the Crows Nest". Seattle Times. p. 13.
  7. ^ Glen Carter (1 Jun 1973). "Maritime: That was no mirage, it was the schooner Wawona". Seattle Times. p. E7.
  8. ^ Newell, Gordon (1966). The HW McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing Co.
  9. ^ a b c Newell, Gordon (1977). The HW McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest 1966 to 1976. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing Co. ISBN 0-875642-20-9.
  10. ^ Walt Woodward (17 Sep 1970). "Boating". Seattle Times. p. F8.

External links[edit]

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