In February 1900, The Rudder magazine published plans, by William Hand Jr, of a “knockabout”. E H Webster, a prominent member of the Derwent Sailing Boat Club (later to become the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania (RYCT)), was looking for a yacht to be used as a One-Design class for the club. The yacht Elf was built using (loosely) Hand’s design. A few more yachts were built to variations of the design, including Caprice and Erica (built by Logan Bros in Auckland), but a one-design class was not formed. Webster had Hand’s design modified, by Hobart naval architect Alf Blore, to suit local sailing conditions and boat building practice and by 1911 had persuaded several yachtsman to build identical yachts. These yachts, built for the sum of about £200, became known simply as “One-Designers”. A total of 7 “One-Designers” were built in Tasmania. Two “One-Designers” were built in New Zealand. These were known in New Zealand as ‘Tasmanian One-Designers’.
