William Hand

Who was William Hand?

William H. Hand, Jr. was an American yacht designer. Hand has been described as one of the most prolific yacht designers of the 20th century with an exceptionally good eye for handsome boats. Hand’s career began around 1900 with the design of small sailboats, but he soon shifted to V-bottomed powerboats. These latter were his specialty until after World War I, when he directed his talent to seakindly schooners including the famous examples Bowdoin and S.S.S. Lotus. Later during the 1930s, motorsailers became his passion; examples still sailing include the Guildive. Hand’s office was in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

The New England Hurricane of 1938 and accompanying tidal surge damaged or destroyed a good deal of Hand’s design work and records. Hand’s surviving drawings are at the Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.