Design and Character
Sparkman & Stephens drew the She 33 as a late-1970s design. She measures just over 32 feet overall, with a waterline of nearly 24 feet and a beam of roughly 10.6 feet. Displacement is 6,250 pounds, carried on a fin-keel hull with a skeg-hung rudder.
Her published ratios show where the design fits. Reviewers categorize her D/L ratio of about 204 as that of a “moderate racer,” while a length-to-beam ratio of 3.05 gives her a proportionate rather than exaggerated hull form.
A motion comfort ratio of 15.7 and an immersion rate of about 880 pounds per inch suggest a hull that settles predictably under load rather than skittering. The important caveat is her capsize screening value of 2.30. That figure indicates she wouldn’t be accepted for ocean racing, framing the She 33 as a sheltered-water and coastal boat rather than a bluewater contender.
Rig and Sail Plan
The She 33 has a masthead rig. Her reference sail area produces a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 19.4; with the working 135 percent genoa hoisted, the ratio rises to 23.4. That meaningful increase shows how strongly the boat’s character depends on the forward triangle.
The running-rigging inventory is thoroughly documented:
- Mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards: 27.6 meters long and 10 millimeters in diameter
- Genoa and jib sheets: 9.8 meters of 12-millimeter line
- Mainsheet: 24.5 meters of 12-millimeter line
- Spinnaker sheet: 21.6 meters
- Cunningham: 3 meters
- Kicking strap and clew outhaul: 6.1 meters
Together, these controls suit a boat that expects to fly synthetic canvas when the breeze cooperates.
Performance Envelope
The She 33’s theoretical hull speed is 6.6 knots. Her fin keel draws 5.41 to 5.71 feet when loaded, keeping her within the draft limits of most marinas.
The underwater body has about 290 square feet of wetted surface. Combined with her moderate displacement, that figure explains the 6.6-knot ceiling more than any lack of sail. She isn’t a lightweight planing hull, and the data doesn’t suggest that she tries to be.
Construction
The She 33 has a fiberglass hull and was built by the British yard responsible for the She series. Ballast is iron. The solid fiberglass hull and deck structure reflect a 1970s British production ethos rather than a later cored-composite experiment.
Verdict
The She 33 is a coherent late-1970s Sparkman & Stephens cruiser-racer. Her documented ratios place her firmly in the moderate-displacement coastal camp. By the numbers, she should be well mannered, her draft makes her easy enough to berth, and the genoa-driven sail plan provides useful responsiveness. For anyone considering ocean work, however, the capsize screening value remains the clear caveat.
Pros
- Moderate-racer D/L and comfort ratios suggest predictable, settled motion in coastal conditions
- Masthead rig with genoa raises the sail-area-to-displacement ratio from 19.4 to 23.4
- Loaded draft of 5.41–5.71 feet keeps her within most marina depths
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.30 excludes her from ocean-race acceptance
- Wetted surface of 290 square feet and a 6.6-knot hull speed define her as a displacement coastal boat
