Wooden Boat AtlasDesigners, builders & classes · v3.0

Atlas / Designers

founded 1929, still operating · New York, New York

Sparkman & Stephens

Naval architects and brokers — New York

The dominant American design office of the twentieth century, whose yawl Dorade — the boat that made its reputation — was sailed to a Transpac win by a Sausalito boatbuilder.

Founded
28 October 1929, by Drake Sparkman, James Sparkman, James Murray, Olin J. Stephens II and Roderick Stephens Jr.
Olin Stephens
1908–2008; apprenticed under Philip Rhodes; roughly 2,200 designs
Rod Stephens
1909–1995; chief rigger and inspector; designed the DUKW and Ford GPA amphibian hulls; Presidential Medal of Freedom
America's Cup
Six of the seven American 12-Metre defenders, 1958–1980
  • 1929Dorade — 52-ft yawl; won the 1931 Transatlantic and Fastnet; won the 1936 Transpac under Myron Spaulding
  • 1934Stormy Weather — yawl
  • 1937Ranger — J-Class, with W. Starling Burgess
  • 1967Intrepid — America's Cup defender
  • 1967Swan 36 — design No. 1710; over 100 built
Sourcing notes & unresolved questions
  • One of the two Farallone Clipper class histories credits the design to Sparkman & Stephens; the other credits Donald Abbott. See the class entry.

Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections