[1] In his time, William Fife designed around 600 yachts, including two contenders for the America's Cup.

As the third generation of a venerable Scottish boat building family, William Fife inherited a rich legacy but was quick to establish his own reputation as one of the top designers in the yachting world.

Often dominating his chief competitors, Fife was a master of his trade who received commissions from European royalty and from clients as far away as Australia.

Between 1907 and 1913, William Fife Jr. designed eight of the twenty 15mR yachts ever built, but his first 15mR named Shimna was not built at his famous Fairlie boatyard, but by Alexander Robertson & Sons, because all Fife's principal yacht builders were needed to work on Myles Kennedy's new 23mR, White Heather II.

In 1951, Fife's sisters arranged for a weather vane to be erected in his memory on the tower of Fairlie parish church.

French yachtsman Éric Tabarly, two-time winner of the OSTAR and owner of the Fife design Pen Duick wrote:the great designers of the period were Herreshoff, George Lennox Watson, Charles E. Nicholson and William Fife.

While Fife established a leading reputation on the yacht racing circuit, his work also included a number of fine cruising vessels.