SPARKMAN & STEPHENS DESIGN #1899
Design #1899 Sail Plan - Copyright of Sparkman and Stephens
My personal views on the subject of Design #1899 and the many variants - The IW31, SHE 31, SHE 31b, SHE S-31B, SHE Traveller 9.5 & DELTA94.
In short summary, they are all Design #1899 except the SHE 31B which is Design #2042, see below. It is a hunch but I do not think ‘SHE 31’ existed as a formal designation and may have become the shortened form of the original ‘SHE S-31b’
“A design of great significance which heralded the way things were moving in the future was the elegant little SHE S-31B #1899”
To start what would become a production run of over 25 years, that centred around two builders, South Hants Marine & IW Varvet AB of Sweden:
DESIGN #1899 - IW 31 (I.W Varvet ab of Sweden)
Starting in 1968 - I.W Varvet Ab boatyard of Sweden utilised the design as the IW 31. Approximately 350 boats were produced up until 1985 in three revisions:
MK I (1968 – 1972): Small stern, ‘dinette’ layout.
MK II (1972 – 1980): Larger stern, new deck, revised wood trim.
MK III (1980 – 1985): Aluminium toe rail (instead of teak), glass hatch, revised hardware.
DESIGN #1899 - SHE S-31b (South Hants Marine)
In parallel South Hants Engineering would produce the SHE S-31b.
“The unusual SHE name comes from the initials of South Hants Engineering, a UK light engineering firm founded in 1947 that branched out with a marine division. Headed up by two brothers, Derek and Simon Fitzgerald armed with an enthusiasm for sailing, the SHE line of yachts flourished from the late sixties to the mid seventies producing solely Sparkman and Stephens designs”
DESIGN #1899 - SHE Traveller 9.5 (South Hants Engineering)
The SHE Traveller 9.5 was a later version of the S-31b. The Traveller has two distinct features that separate her from the original design; one that would disappear and one that would carry forward to a later variant. South Hants would extend the topsides by approximately 6” around the entire hull. I can only assume as an attempt to gain more head room and freeboard.
“Accommodation on the original boats was limited with very little headroom, especially in the fore cabin. The builder responded to public demand by producing the 9.5 Traveller”
This feature is easy to distinguish in that the extension was added to the original mould, subsequently the iconic cove strip is 7” below the toe rail. On the original SHE S-31b and IW 31 it is approximately 1.5” below the rail. An attempt to disguise this shortcoming was the use of a solid band of different colour or tone between the cove strip and the toe rail, giving an almost pin stripe look. The second significant modification was the extended coach roof with three windows on each side.
Note the blue stripe, marking the extent of the hull extension and the position of the original cove strip. It would be interesting to know if the Sparkman & Stephens design board approved of the hull topsides extension or if they were even aware of the modifications?
DESIGN #1899 - DELTA94 (South Hants Engineering)
Following a custom build that was on show at the 1977 Southampton boat show;
“They discussed with the builder, South Hants Marine, the possibility of going into production. With the aid of one of South Hants top ship wrights, Laird Adams Engineering began fitting out Delta 94s”
The Delta carries the same increased free board of the Traveller but returns to the original coach roof of the SHE S-31b, combining the windows to a single window.
So, in conclusion the DELTA94 is a SHE 31 (S-31b) with 6” extra on the topsides.
Of interest in the DELTA94 brochure is the return of the ‘Fast Cruising Sloop’ penned in the original brochure for the S-31b.
DESIGN #2042 - The SHE 31B (South Hants Engineering)
There is a lot of reference made to SHE 31’s and they are often found for sale advertised as SHE 31b’s. Distinguishing this between the S-31b and SHE-31B is quite confusing although Blue water boats makes the following comments on the SHE 31:
“Please note the SHE 31B produced by South Hants Engineering from 1970 onwards was an altogether different design – being Sparkman and Stephens design #2042 which was also designated for 1/2 ton IOR racing. It was further developed into the SHE 32 – a more luxurious and roomier yacht intended for cruising.”
Sparkman and Stephens state the production boat Designs by manufacturer: South Hants Marine indicating the 31B to be design #2042.
Included below are the sail plans for both #1899 and #2042. There are some striking differences but of more interest is their subtle similarities; note the raked stem of #2042, Markedly different although she retains the reverse counter with the hollow curve in the overhang. Also a smaller skeg and balance point of the rudder shaft.
