The Starling class yacht was conceived and the design commissioned by John Peet in the late 1960s.

At the time, there were no single-handed boats available in New Zealand, for bridging the gap between the P-class and the adult Finn, OK, Cherokee and Zephyr classes.

In consultation with parents of current P-class sailors, a set of criteria was formulated for the proposed class: Des Townson, the designer of the successful Zephyr, Mistral and Dart yachts of the period was approached to design the boat, and he completed this in June 1969.

To confirm the simplicity of the construction concept, teenager David Peet built the prototype as his first boat-building project.

Feedback was very supportive and encouraging, with a great deal of enthusiasm expressed for the concept and the finished prototype.