Edson Burr Schock (1871-1950) began his yacht design career at the age of 28, when he started working as an apprentice draftsman for A. Cary Smith. In 1900, only a year later, Schock opened his own office. In the early years, he supplemented his business with jobs at the Cramp Shipyard in Philadelphia and a shipyard in Groton, CT. Between 1906 and 1910, he was the design editor for Rudder magazine, and he continued to write articles for various publications throughout his life. At the request of a client in 1910, Schock moved to Vancouver, BC, to supervise construction of a yacht, and he spent the next 40 years at several locations on the West Coast. In 1922, he set up shop in Los Angeles and capitalized on the growth of the movie industry. He spent much of World War II in Stockton, CA, where he designed minesweepers and tugs for the war effort. In 1949, he moved to Kingston, RI, to be near his son, Edson I. Schock. Edson B. Schock's design career is characterized by its diversity - he drafted racing power boats, motor yachts, racing and cruising sailboats, military and government craft, as well as a variety of commercial vessels such as freighters, tugs, and fishing boats.

Edson Irwin Schock (1897-1988) graduated from MIT's naval architecture program in 1918 and eventually became a professor in the engineering department at the University of Rhode Island. He was particularly interested in efficient construction techniques, and he produced many designs for small, easy-to-build plywood boats. In 1952, he published his book, "How to Build Small Boats." After his retirement, he joined the staff at Mystic Seaport Museum and drew plans for many of the Museum's historic watercraft.