William H. Hand Jr. (1875–1946) 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.
[Bray, Anne and Maynard (2000). ''Designs to Inspire: From The Rudder 1897–1942'', WoodenBoat Publications. , p. 178.] Hand's career began around 1900 with the design of small
sailboats
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminology ...
, but he soon shifted to V-bottomed
powerboat
A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.
Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...
s. These latter were his specialty until after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when he directed his talent to seakindly
schooners
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
including the famous examples ''
Bowdoin'' and
S.S.S. ''Lotus''. Later during the 1930s, motorsailers became his passion; examples still sailing include the ''Guildive'' (a ketch). Hand's office was in
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor wi ...
(but advertisements in ''The Rudder'' and ''Motorboat'' magazines indicate he did business in New Bedford, MA, prior to Fairhaven).
The
New England Hurricane of 1938
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...
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
The MIT Museum, founded in 1971, is located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It hosts collections of holography, technology-related artworks, artificial intelligence, architecture, robotics, maritime histor ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.
Existing examples
'' ''Nathaniel_Bowditch''">Nathaniel_Bowditch">''Nathaniel_Bowditch
''_schooner
*_''_
Bowdoin'',_Arctic_schooner
*_''June_Adair''_schooner
*_''''Nathaniel_Bowditch''">Nathaniel_Bowditch">''Nathaniel_Bowditch
''_schooner
*_''_
Bowdoin'',_Arctic_schooner
*_''June_Adair''_schooner
*_''LOTUS_(schooner)">Lotus''
*_
Guildive
'
*_'' ''Nathaniel_Bowditch
''">Nathaniel_Bowditch">''Nathaniel_Bowditch
''_schooner
*_''_Bowdoin'',_Arctic_schooner
*_''June_Adair''_schooner
*_''LOTUS_(schooner)">Lotus''
*_
Guildive
'
*_''Zodiac_(schooner)">Zodiac_
The_zodiac_is_a_belt-shaped_region_of_the_sky_that_extends_approximately_8°_north_or_south_(as_measured_in_celestial_latitude)_of_the_ecliptic,_the_Sun_path,_apparent_path_of_the_Sun_across_the_celestial_sphere_over_the_course_of_the_year.__...
'',_schooner
''Hindu''
schooner._Currently_in_Key_West,_Florida
*_''Elsita''
*_''William_Hand''
*_''Noreaster'',_motorsailer
*_''Maramel_(schooner).html" ;"title="Zodiac_(schooner).html" "title="LOTUS_(schooner).html" ;"title="Nathaniel_Bowditch
''.html" ;"title="Nathaniel Bowditch">''Nathaniel Bowditch
''">Nathaniel Bowditch">''Nathaniel Bowditch
'' schooner
* '' Bowdoin'', Arctic schooner
* ''June Adair'' schooner
* ''LOTUS (schooner)">Lotus''
*
Guildive
'
* ''Zodiac (schooner)">Zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
schooner. Currently in Key West, Florida
* ''Elsita''
* ''William Hand''
* ''Noreaster'', motorsailer
* ''Maramel (schooner)">Maramel'', schooner
A two-part article on Hand, published in ''Woodenboat'' Nos. 28 and 29 (May/June and July/August 1979) covers the designer's career. Additional material is in Waldo Howland's book ''Life in Boats: The Years Before the War'', published by Mystic Seaport in 1984. For a rundown on Hand's drawings, refer to Kurt Hasselbalch's ''Guide to Davis-Hand Collection'' by MIT in 1998.