William Hand

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Photo by: Billy Black

The galley, spanning the full beam forward of the salon and head, has the sink and counter on the port side, Norcold refrigerator/freezer on the centerline and stove on the starboard side. The cooking area is relatively tight and seamanlike, giving the chef a variety of options for bracing himself in rough seas. The modern appliances don’t look out of place, I suppose, because they’re useful, and what good is having a lovely old yacht that you can’t use?

Tucked into the bow of the William Hand, the crew’s quarters are a perfect spot for a trio of children. The cork sole will withstand a lot of abuse, and it’s naturally anti-slip. Stacked berths line the port side, and a single berth atop a couple of stowage lockers fills the starboard side. The kids will love going topside via the vertical ladder and raised hatch, as much as the professional crew of the 1930s probably disliked the exit.



Keeping the crew and owners at opposite ends of the boat is an ancient tradition, so Hand placed the owner’s stateroom abaft the pilothouse and the machinery space beneath it. Maybe at the owner’s request or maybe because certain circles of the yachting world frowned upon co-mingling of the sexes, this yacht doesn’t have a genuine double berth — only the convertible dinette in the salon, but I doubt that it’s original. In the master, a single berth on each side nestles hard against the hull, separated at the foot by a settee.

Each berth has wide drawers under it and each berth has a fold-up night table at the head. Wake early on a dreary day at the anchorage, prop yourself on a pile of luxurious pillows and wait for the crew to deliver coffee and a scone. If the book that you’d been reading the night before beckons from the night table, read for an hour before giving the order to weigh anchor. If you wake to bright sunlight and a light breeze from the butterfly hatch on the centerline and the portholes adjacent to your berth, take coffee and a scone in the pilothouse or the salon. Not a minute to lose on such a fine day.

By the time I’d exhausted my fantasy tour, Sée announced our departure by firing the Detroit Diesel 6-71 engine. It burst into life before the crankshaft completed a single full revolution. As the engine warmed, we cast off our lines and then gently motored away from the float.



Just as I had expected, the only way to fill the sails in the very light air was to build apparent wind under power, so we left them furled. A pity, in part, because I would have enjoyed seeing what sort of numbers the B&G sailing instruments showed. Taking advantage of the motor half of the William Hand, we “hustled” right up to hull speed and enjoyed her graceful progress through the calm sea. Boats of this ilk require patience from the helmsman. She refuses to be rushed and makes sure you don’t try to hurry through any maneuver by being stiff on the helm and slow to turn. Considering the 30 feet, or so, of cable between the wheel and the rudderpost, I’m surprised she steers at all without power assist. No matter; we weren’t running a slalom or navigating a sea of lobster pots.

As we closed on our place at Strouts Point Wharf, I savored the short time aboard and imagined what I would change. All of her mechanical systems are modern, save the engine, though the 6-71 is postwar and definitely an upgrade over the original gasoline engine. Power steering? Maybe, but would you add power steering to your restored 1933 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud? I chose leaving her as she is, and I still want to move aboard. Now, where will I put my office?

LOA: 63’6”
LWL: 59’0”
BEAM: 14’0”
DRAFT: 5’0”
DISPL.: 40 tons
(full load)
ENGINE: 1 x 120 hp Detroit Diesel 6-71
FUEL: 700 gal.
WATER: 300 gal.
PRICE: $2.3 million

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Midcoast Yacht Brokerage, 207-701-9998; www.midcoastyacht.com