Sailing Ship Rigs - Sloop

The options:  Ship-wrigged (square sails perpendicular to the keel), Fore and aft (following the line of the keel), hybrid


Sloop:

From ASA:

A sloop rig is a boat with a single-mast and a fore and aft sail configuration. Sloops date back to the early 17th century but didn’t really become popular until the 20th century. The likely reason for their popularity is their ability to effectively head up wind and how relatively simple they are to control – great for short-handing. 

. . . . Once boats get over 45-feet, however, the sloop rig choice may get questioned since the sails on larger vessels with sloop rigs can get so big they are hard to manage. However these days, technology is providing solutions that keep this arrangement the go-to rig for most modern sailors. 

Other advantages of a sloop rig are economic. Compared to rigs with more masts and thereby more rigging, the sloop’s simpler plan allows for fewer wires (standing rigging) and less costs associated with maintenance and replacement. This also means less sails…theoretically. The base sail plan requires just two sails, but lots of sailors end up buying spinnakers, gennakers, genoas, wind-seekers, storm jibs and anything else they can use to provide maximum efficiency.

Spinnaker - date from 1886

Gennakers - date from 1990

Storm Jibs

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