The Shields 30 is a class of keelboat devised in 1963 by US sailor Cornelius Shields. He conceived of a modern followup to the International One Design (IOD). The new boat would have the balance and beauty of the IOD while incorporating modern trends such as fibreglass construction. Shields commissioned Olin Stephens of Sparkman and Stephens for the design. Shield’s idea was that during the short summer racing season the boats would be raced by the Long Island Sound yacht clubs, and used by the schools for training and instruction the remainder of the year.
The first batch of 20 boats were built at the Cape Cod Shipyard, and donated to training schools on the US east coast. In total over 100 boats were donated to colleges across the US, over 250 have been built and many are actively raced in fleets around the US.
The Shields weigh 4,600 pounds, 3,080 pounds of which is lead ballast. This is relatively heavy for a 30’ boat of this design, making it a very stable vessel and subsequently excellent instructional boats. The boats quickly became popular and the first class association named them “Shields” to honor their originator.
