Stephens Waring Yacht Design

Spirit of Tradition Yachts Designed In Maine

Morris 52: Windsock II

and filed under SoT Registry

Designers Sparkman & Stephens said it themselves about Windsock II: “Teak is definitely the theme of this sailing yacht.” America’s design legends were not lying. This 52-foot Spirit-of-Tradition stalwart is a veritable wedding cake of this lavish tropical hardwood. Layer upon layer of teak is found under foot, in the cockpit and throughout the boat. There’s high-gloss, quarter-sawn passages of the stuff in the cockpit coamings and furniture. More muted finishes of the wood are found in the side decks, afterdeck, and the foredeck. Heck, every surface we could see above the sheer is sheathed with either elegantly bare or […]

The Ultimate Maine Cruising, Racing, Cruising, Racing-Racing, Cruising Guide

and filed under Racing, Spirit of Tradition

Maine as a racing and cruising destination? Who ever heard of such a thing. But at least for the summer 2018, it seems to be true. We’ve been taking a deep dive into the coming classic yacht-racing schedule, and wouldn’t you know it — with no particular organizing body involved — little old Mid-Coast Maine has become a must-do race and cruise stopover for late July and early August. If you have ever dreamed of making the trip Down East, here’s the perfect cruising, racing, cruising, racing-racing, cruising guide to Maine. The Camden Classics Cup: July 26 – 28. Maine is […]

The Regatta with a Great Story to Tell: The Corinthian Classic.

and filed under Racing, Spirit of Tradition

As this summer’s racing season gears up, and we consider the Mid-Coast Maine classic racing scene in another nearby post, an interesting naval design truth hit us: The biggest sailboat races almost go out of their way to deny their design legacies. Go look at the scratch sheets for the major events like the Newport Bermuda Race, the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, and the TransPac, and can you find many sailing homages to the past that built these fleets? Probably not. Certainly, most big regattas try to tell their stories in one form or another in race history […]

Cal 4040 or Solo: You Decide.

and filed under Design, Racing

Thinking aloud about a Cal 40 reboot turned out to be more “interesting” than we ever imagined. In our last articles, we chatted idly over what we’d thought would be about keeping C. William Lapworth’s legendary pac-racing Cal 40 relevant to today’s materials and techniques. And, oh boy, what a hit. We’re no stranger to strong opinions and hot-bar arguments with this wacky and wonderful sailing tribe of ours. But we were caught out when this Cal 4040 piece instantly became our most popular story, ever. (It never hurts when our friends over at the all-mighty Sailing Anarchy copied and linked […]

On A Great Mac-Race SoT Racer.

and filed under Design, Racing, Spirit of Tradition

It might be mid-April, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of fresh water sailors from booking up their July-21st weekend. That’s when the Chicago-Mac race — or more precisely, the “Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac”  — fires off for 2018. And true to form, this year’s 333-mile granddaddy of all freshwater distance races will see a full flush of raceboats shaping up at the starting line. So far, we counted 292 vessels in the 2018 scratch sheet. Wednesday night ’round-the-can racing, the Mac is not. Of course, to our twisted-boat design sense of fun, a more rigorous all-around boat test […]

The Cal “4040”

and filed under Boat Nerd Tech, Marine Engineering, Spirit of Tradition

Listen up, all you Cal 40 owners and racers: We have nothing but deep love and true respect for all you do, and what you represent. But, we have two serious marine design words for you all: “It’s time.” Over the past several months, we have been tinkering with several questions for cruisers/racers for the California, Oregon and Washington coasts. Not everyone realizes how a fertile the waters of the western U.S. have been for yacht innovation. But everything from America’s Cup boats to Bill Lee’s ultra-light TransPac racing sleds have flourished in these open waters that are lucky enough […]

Anna’s SUV Secret.

and filed under Design, Marine Engineering, Spirit of Tradition

Anna has happened. After years in the making, our brand-new, all-custom 66-footer slid into the seas in Thomaston, Maine, finally ready to carry the hopes and dreams of yachting’s greatest miracle — the paying customer. But christenings come with their gentle bummers. All the wonderful ideas and yard craftsmanship that get built over and hidden. No owner or sailor will ever see the engineering of the keel, the construction of the inner mast, or what makes the staterooms tight and dry. So why not, with Anna so new to this world, talk through one of the more interesting inner secrets […]

Swede 55: Vortex

and filed under SoT Registry

Surprisingly undocumented for a design this important — most searches for the “Vortex 55” lead to a hand mixer — these Knud Reimers boats were among the first group to sound the starting gun for the modern Spirit-of-Tradition narrative. Drawn in 1975, the Swede 55 was all about Reimers adapting a square-meter rule, popular for that time,  to a mass-produced, fiberglass 53-foot day-sailer. Something like 35 were built between about 1975 and 1985, with names like Tiana, and Rosina. What matters today is, if you look carefully at the original design to the right, is how Reimers lays out most […]

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