Sloop
Encyclopedia
- For the open learning project see: SLOOP ProjectSLOOP ProjectSLOOP - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective - is an eLearning and open content project started in 2005 thanks to a European project co-funded within the Leonardo da Vinci programe...
.
A sloop (from Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
sloep, in turn from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
chaloupe) is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig
Fore-and-aft rig
A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing rig consisting mainly of sails that are set along the line of the keel rather than perpendicular to it. Such sails are described as fore-and-aft rigged....
and a single mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
farther forward than the mast of a cutter.
A sloop's fore-triangle is smaller than a cutter's, and unlike a cutter, a sloop usually bends only one headsail
Headsail
A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
, though this distinction is not definitive; some sloops, such as the Friendship Sloop
Friendship Sloop
thumb|left|[[Fiberglass]] Friendship Sloop Bay Lady The Friendship sloop, also known as a Muscongus Bay sloop or lobster sloop, is a style of gaff-rigged sloop that originated in Friendship, Maine around 1880...
, have more than one. Ultimately, the position of the mast is the most important factor in determining whether a ship is classified as a sloop.
On a gaff rig
Gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...
ged, dual masted ship, the clearest distinction between a sloop and a cutter is the run of the forestay
Forestay
On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is...
. On a sloop, it runs to the outboard end of the bowsprit
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
, which means that the bowsprit must always stay in position and cannot be retracted. On a cutter, the forestay runs to the stem head of the hull. This allows the bowsprit to be run back inboard and stowed. This can be helpful in crowded harbours or when stowing the jib in strong wind conditions.
Rationale behind the sloop rig
Two forces act on a vessel to push it from vertical (also known as heeling over):
- the weight of the rig, itself, will tend to heel the boat, and
- the sideways force of the wind on the sails.
The sloop is a light rig with fewer lines and spar
Spar
In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
s, and the sails on a sloop tend to be flat, which minimizes sideways force when well trimmed. The heeling forces are also counterbalanced by the keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
, which uses weight and hydrodynamics to offset the forces from the rigging and sails.
When sailing upwind, it is also important to minimize the drag
Drag
- In science and technology :* Drag , the force which resists motion of an object through a fluid* Drag equation, a mathematical equation used in analyzing the magnitude of drag caused by fluid flow...
of the wind on the sail and rig. A major cause of drag on the sail is a vortex
Vortex
A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
of turbulent
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
air generated by the top of the mast and sail. Secondary causes are non-optimal aerodynamic shapes of masts, stays, and control lines. The sloop minimizes the drag of the tip-vortex with a high and narrow sail design (high aspect
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
), maximizing the amount of sail for a given tip-vortex compared to a square-rigged or gaff-rigged ship. Also, the simplicity of the rig reduces the drag induced by control lines, masts, and spars.
Sails carried
Foresail
A foresail is one of a few different types of sail set on the foremost mast of a sailing vessel:* A fore and aft sail set on the foremast of a schooner or similar vessel....
may be replaced (or sometimes supplemented) by larger curved sails known as spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
s or gennaker
Gennaker
A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the forestay like a jib or genoa. The gennaker is rigged like a spinnaker but the tack is fastened to...
s. The typical foresail, known as the jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
, which does not overlap the mast more than 10 to 20 percent, may be replaced by a genoa
Genoa (sail)
The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below. It is a type of large jib or staysail used on bermuda rigged craft that overlaps the main sail, sometimes eliminating it. It is used on single-masted...
, which overlaps the mast by as much as 55 to 100 percent, for racing rules, and sometimes more. The mainsail and genoa form an efficient double wing.
The Bermuda Sloop
The modern yachting sloop is known as the Bermuda sloop, due to its Bermuda rigBermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
(also known as the Marconi rig, due to its resemblance to the wireless towers of Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
), which is the optimal rig for upwind sailing; consequently sloops are popular with sport sailors and yachtsmen, and for racing. The rig is simple in its basic form, yet when tuned properly, it is maneuverable and fast. The main disadvantage is the relatively large size of the sails, especially on larger vessels. It is also less successful sailing downwind; the addition of a spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
is necessary for faster downwind speed in all but the strongest winds, and the spinnaker is an intrinsically unstable sail requiring continual trimming.
The Bermuda sloop is a type of fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel developed on the island of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in the 17th century. In this sense, the term is applied to small ships, rather than boats. In its purest form, it is single-masted, although ships with such rigging were built with as many as three masts. Its original form had gaff rig, but evolved to use what is now known as Bermuda rig
Bermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
, making it the basis of nearly all modern sailing yachts. Although the Bermuda sloop is often described as a development of the narrower-beamed Jamaica sloop, which dates from the 1670s, the high, raked masts and triangular sails of its Bermuda rig are rooted in a tradition of Bermudian boat design dating from the early 17th century. Part of that tradition included long, horizontal bowsprits and large jibs. Three jibs were commonly used on Bermudian ships. Triangular sails appeared on Bermudian boats early in the 17th century, a development of the Dutch bezaan, or leg-of-mutton rig, itself derived from the Lateen rig. This became the Bermuda rig, and was appearing on Bermudian ships by the early 19th century. A large spinnaker was carried on a spinnaker boom, when running down-wind.
Jamaican Sloop
Jamaican Sloops were slightly different from Bermuda Sloops, the most obvious difference being that these ships were built on the shores of Jamaica. Their beams were narrower than ocean-going Bermuda sloops, and they carried gaff rig, where Bermuda sloops might carry gaff or Bermuda rig. The keel for Jamaican sloops would usually be between 50–75 feet, but could be built longer. They usually had a speed of around 12 knots, which is equivalent to about 13 mph. The sloops were built near the shore and usually out of cedar trees, since these were very resistant to rot, grew very fast and tall, and had a taste displeasing to animals. One of the reasons why Jamaican sloops were built out of cedar, and not oak, was because of the specific properties of cedar. The oak that would normally be used would rot in about 10 years, while cedar would last for close to 30, and was considerably lighter than oak, as well. The change in weight also made the ships made of cedar faster and more able to maneuver quickly.Since piracy was a significant threat in Caribbean waters, merchants sought ships that could outrun pursuers. Ironically, that same speed and maneuverability made them highly prized and even more targeted by the pirates they were designed to avoid.
When the ship had to be careened
Careening
Careening a sailing vessel is the practice of beaching it at high tide. This is usually done in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out....
, pirates needed a safe haven on which to ground the ship. Sloops were well suited for this because they were able to sail in shallow areas where larger ships would either run aground or be unable to sail through at all. These shallow waters also provided protection from many of the naval ships of the English, which tended to be larger and required deep water to sail safely.
Historic naval definition
The naval term "sloop" referred to ships with different rigs and sizes varying from navy to navy. "Sloop-of-warSloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
" was more of a reference to the purpose of the craft, rather than to the specific size or sailplan. (Further confusion was caused by the practice of redesignating a vessel simply according to the rank of the commanding officer.) The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
began buying Bermuda sloop
Bermuda sloop
The Bermuda sloop is a type of fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel developed on the islands of Bermuda in the 17th century. In its purest form, it is single-masted, although ships with such rigging were built with as many as three masts, which are then referred to as schooners...
s, beginning with an order for three sloops-of-war (HMS Dasher, HMS Driver, and HMS Hunter, which were each of 200 tons, armed with twelve 24 pounders) placed with Bermudian builders in 1795. They were intended to counter the menace of French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s, which the Navy's ships-of-the-line were ill-designed to counter.
Eventually, Bermuda sloops became the standard advice vessels of the navy, used for communications, reconnoitering, anti-slaving, anti-smuggling, and other roles to which they were well suited. The most notable examples of these were HMS Pickle
HMS Pickle (1800)
HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting. of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as an armed tender on the Jamaica Station...
, which raced back to England with news of the British victory and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the end of the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, and HMS Whiting (79 tons and four guns), which lowered anchor in the harbor of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on 8 July 1812, carrying dispatches. The American privateer Dash, which happened to be leaving port, seized the vessel. The crew of Whiting had not yet received news of the American declaration of war, and her capture was the first naval action of the American War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Generally, a sloop was smaller than a frigate; however, in the later days of the U.S. Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sailing fleet, some of the largest vessels were called sloops because they carried fewer guns than a frigate, as few as 20. The classification of sloop was similar to that of a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
.
Modern naval definition
In modern usage, a sloop refers to a warship between a corvetteCorvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
and a frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
in size. Such vessels were common during the age of steam, but ships of this type were becoming obsolete by the Second World War. The Royal Navy used sloops, such as those of the , in numerous roles, including escort duty and anti-submarine warfare, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The same was true during the Second World War, when the Royal Navy used the .
Modern civilian connotation
Sloops in their modern form were developed by the French NavyFrench Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
as blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s to circumvent Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
s. They were later adapted to pilot boats (small ships that took a pilot out to a ship, to guide it into a harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
). Later still, they were adapted to smaller revenue cutters.
The first modern sloops were fitted with the Bermuda rig
Bermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
, so called as a result of its development in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, during the 17th century. This rig is also called the Marconi rig because of the resemblance of its tall mast and complex standing rigging to Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
's wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
(radio) transmission antennas.
A sloop always has a single mast. The only other modern sailing rig that has a single mast is a cutter. A cutter differs from a sloop in that a that the cutter's mast is placed farther aft--almost in the center of the boat. Most cutters carry two headsails forward of the mast.
The majority of modern sailboats are sloops, or, to put it another way; most modern sailboats are sloop-rigged. Almost all small modern sailboats are sloop-rigged. A typical modern sloop carries a mainsail on a boom aft of the mast, and a single headsail (a jib or a genoa jib) forward of the mast.
Modern sloops may be further divided into masthead-rigged sloops and fractional-rigged sloops. In the case of the masthead-rigged sloop, the forestay (on which the headsail is carried) attaches at the top of the mast. On a masthead-rigged sloop, the headsail is often larger than the mainsail. This is especially true if the headsail is a large genoa jib. In the case of a fractional-rigged sloop, the forestay attaches to the mast at a point below the top. It might attach 3/4 of the way to top, or perhaps 7/8 or some other fraction. This is the origin of the term fractional-rigged. The mast of a fractional-rigged sloop is also usually placed farther forward, and this results in a much smaller jib relative to the size of the mainsail.
Most sailing sloops from the first part of the 20th century were fractional rigged. The same could be said of most sloops of less than 20 feet throughout the 20th century. The fractional rig was probably preferred because, relative to a masthead rig, it allowed sails to be of a lower aspect ratio. This in turn allowed a taller mast (and more sail area) to be carried without the need to resort to a bowsprit. As sailcloth improved in the second half of the 20th century, it became possible to construct sails of a higher aspect ratio, and it became practical for sloops to use the simpler masthead-rigged mast. Most production sailboats from the '60s and '70s were masthead-rigged sloops. Masthead-rigged sloops could carry a larger spinnaker than fractional-rigged sloops, and were therefore faster when racing downwind. Fractional rigged sloops are starting to become popular again, especially for high-performance racing boats. The J-24 (pictured) is a fractional-rigged sloop. A fractional rig allows the mast to bend more easily, which in turn allows more adjustment to the shape of the sails, especially when sailing upwind. Many people believe that fractional-rigged sloops are faster upwind than a similar masthead-rigged sloop. Most of the newest generation of fractional-rigged sloops fly their spinnakers from the top of the mast. These boats are said to have "masthead spinnakers", and this development gives the boat maximum performance both upwind and downwind.
The state of the art in racing sloops, today, may be seen in the IACC
International Americas Cup Class
The International Americas Cup Class is a class of sailing vessels that was developed for the America's Cup competition. These yachts, while not identical, are all designed to a particular formula, so as to make the boats involved in a competition roughly comparable, while still giving individuals...
yachts sailed in the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
competition. This statement is only true in that the most money has been spent in this class, to build the fastest boats that meet the IACC rules. Much faster sloops have been built that do not fit the rules, using such forbidden technology as canting keels and movable water ballast. The current Volvo Ocean Race
Volvo Ocean Race
The Volvo Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three years. It is named after its current owner, Volvo...
is using a new class, the Volvo 70, which boasts a canting keel, carbon construction throughout, and very powerful sailplans. The 24-hour distance record was recently broken several times, with ABN AMRO 2 setting the record distance of 563 nautical miles (1,043 km) for a monohull (January 2006). These boats routinely sail at or above wind speeds and can sustain mid-20 knots (39 km/h) speeds hour after hour.
The largest yachting sloop built to date is Mirabella V
Mirabella V
Mirabella V is a sloop-rigged super yacht launched in 2003. At an estimated cost of over US$50million, she is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.-Ownership:...
, with a carbon-fiber mast that is 289 feet (90 m) high.
See also
- "Sloop John BSloop John B"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, "The John B. Sails," taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg . Alan Lomax made a field recording of...
", a traditional song about an ill-fated trip, made famous by The Beach BoysThe Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962... - Hudson River Sloop ClearwaterHudson River Sloop ClearwaterThe Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is an organization based in Beacon, New York that seeks to protect the Hudson River and surrounding wetlands and waterways through advocacy and public education...
, a traditional sloop launched in 1969 to promote environmental awareness - Sloop Woody GuthrieSloop Woody GuthrieThe Sloop Woody Guthrie is a sailing vessel ordered built by Pete Seeger in 1978 for the Beacon Sloop Club. It helps support the mission of a larger sloop, The Clearwater, in educating people about the Hudson River...
, a sister ship to the Clearwater that helps to promote environmental awareness - Mast aft rigMast aft rigA mast aft rig, alternately referred to as aft-mast rig, is a sailboat sail-plan that uses a single mast set in the aft half of the hull. The mast supports fore-sails that may consist of a single jib multiple staysails, or a crab claw sail. The mainsail is either small or completely absent...
, a single mast rig with a mast further back than a sloop or cutter
External links
- Hudson River Sloop Woody Guthrie, a smaller Hudson River Ferry sloop operated by the Beacon Sloop Club
- Jones, Gregory O. The American Sailboat.