Perhaps best known for the success of our sailing yachts and particularly our many winning racing yachts, Sparkman & Stephens has a proven and unmatched record for delivering innovative and successful designs for all types of vessels.

Although best known for the design of custom yachts, the company’s greatest influence has been with the design of production yachts. S&S production designs include the venerable BLUE JAY class and the ubiquitous 19-foot LIGHTNING on which countless numbers have learned to sail. In recent years, the firm has produced successful production designs for many well-known builders such as SWAN, TARTAN, QUEEN LONG, NORTHWIND and MORRIS. Its broad experience in both racing and cruising designs gives S&S an unparalleled database upon which to draw for the development of any new design.

Production Boat Designs

From its earliest years, S&S has set the pace on race-yacht design. Many of the firm’s early classics such as DORADE, STORMY WEATHER and BOLERO have been restored and are still sailing and racing. For much of the 20th century, S&S was synonymous with the America’s Cup having designed the unparalleled J-Class Cup defender RANGER, as well as the successful 12-Meter defenders COLUMBIA, CONSTELLATION, INTREPID, COURAGEOUS AND FREEDOM. More recent successful racing yacht designs include the 73-foot ENCORE and the 81-foot maxi SAGAMORE. S&S designers have access to almost 80 years of data from which to assist them designing any type of racing yacht from high-tech ultralights to maxis to racy retro-classics.

Performance & Racing Yachts

Few designers have as many offshore cruising yachts in service as Sparkman & Stephens. The company has long been known for designing safe, seaworthy, comfortable long-range sailing vessels. Among the better-known S&S designs are the 80-foot Palmer Johnson TEMPEST, the 124-foot FREEDOM for former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon and the magnificent 112-foot ZINGARO built at Derecktor Shipyards.

Offshore Cruisers

Enjoying a day on the water doesn’t require a superyacht. In fact, some sailors prefer to keep it simple. Since company founder Olin J. Stephens II drew his first boat, the Manhasset Bay One-Design, S&S has been active producing some of the most beloved day sailers on the water. Some classic S&S designs include the venerable BLUE JAY and the ubiquitous LIGHTING upon which countless sailors have cut their teeth. Modern S&S day sailers include the gorgeous and wildly successful Morris 36 of which some 50 have been built since their introduction in 2003. Ironically, the retro-classic Morris 36 is an evolution of a 1965 Olin Stephens design called POPPY.

Day Sailers

Known as the "Super J", Ranger was designed to the maximum waterline length allowed by the Universal Rule, 87', by a collaboration between Sparkman & Stephens and Starling Burgess in 1937. Extensive tank testing of numerous hull models, allowed the final decision to be based on which hull would perform best in the expected conditions of the America's Cup off Newport, Rhode Island.

See The Sparkman & Stephens J Class

No designer or design firm has had as much success in America’s Cup competition as has Sparkman & Stephens beginning with the J-CLASS RANGER, which defended the Cup in 1930 to FREEDOM, the 1980 defender. But during no period during its 150-year-plus history has the Cup seen such design dominance as during the 12-Meter era. A succession of S&S Twelves defended the America’s Cup seven times beginning in 1958, the first year the class raced in the event, to 1980. Capturing those honors were COLUMBIA, CONSTELLATION, INTREPID, COURAGEOUS and FREEDOM with INTREPID and COURAGEOUS winning two regattas each. The Cup has moved on to more contemporary designs, but many of the Twelves are still raced actively around the world.

See The Sparkman & Stephens Twelves

It’s difficult not to mention S&S and classic yachts in the same breath. The list of influential and important classic S&S designs is extensive: STORMY WEATHER, DORADE, BOLERO, SONNY. Many of the early S&S designs sprang from the exceedingly fertile mind of company co-founder Olin J. Stephens II. Stephens, who turns 100 in 2008, has lived to see many of his earliest designs including the aforementioned yachts, lovingly restored to mint condition. Many are still raced and cruised actively.

The Sparkman & Stephens "Classics"

The uninitiated will almost always select the older yachts in a harbor as being the "prettiest." Recent years have seen a surge in interest in the aesthetic values present in the classic yachts of yore where form and function held relatively equal weight. After having generated many of the designs that have come to be recognized as classics, Sparkman & Stephens has been at the forefront of the retro-classic revival having created the beautiful Morris 36 and 52 and a growing number of others. The firm recently designed an evolution of STORMY WEATHER called ANNA. ANNA retains the aesthetic spirit of the beloved Stormy, while sporting a modern underbody and systems. An association of J-Class owners has recently formed an organization and is racing actively in a number of venues. Sparkman & Stephens has all the engineering and tank test data on what was recognized to be the fastest of the J-Class yachts, RANGER. They will gladly design a J-boat to suit an owner who wants to race in this newly expanding class.

See Sparkman & Stephens "Modern Classics"