A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet (3x3x3 feet). It would take roughly five or six "shovels" (give or take one "shovel"), heaped up the way I do it, to fill one cubic foot. So my estimate is between 135 and 162 shovels would amount to a cubic yard of sand. Call it roughly 145 shovels, but your mileage will vary depending on the shovel size and how ...