Boat Models, Bermuda Sloop, Large

A Little Bermuda Sloop Information

Although the Bermuda sloop was the most widely known early version of the sloop in the late 17th and early 18th century, it was developed from an earlier 1670s or so design called the Jamaican sloop. The Jamaican sloop was slightly narrower of beam and did not have the characteristic rake to the mast like that of the Bermuda sloop. These early sloops varied from 30 to 70 feet in length and 25 to over 100 tons. Sloops were particularly seaworthy, although slightly narrower than a cutter, and were used as general cargo vessels in the Caribbean and along the entire Atlantic seaboard of North America.

Bermudians were renowned for their sailing innovation in the "Age of Sail" when sail was the only means of transport of goods, people and culture.

The Bermuda Sloop was designed for speed, for fast cargo carrying, privateering and the �illegal trades�. This single-masted, fast sailer was lighter because of Bermuda Cedar construction and presented a tremendous amount of sail area with a huge gaff-rigged mainsail. They were known to be prone to capsizing or simply �sailing themselves under� in heavy weather - a 72� low slung sloop with top heavy guns on decks was difficult, if not impossible, to control with a 65� main boom sweeping over the deck.

Downwind in a seaway, the sloop was prone to rolling, which unchecked, could culminate in a knock down, the sloop then being vulnerable to flooding. However, due to the financial rewards at that time especially for the "privateering trade", it was considered an acceptable risk to lose a vessel and crew. The insurance rate for this line of work was roughly equivalent to that of insuring a helicopter today.

Bermudian sailors were famous for their adeptness in handling the sloop but foreign navies favoured the more manageable two or three-masted schooner rig instead of the huge single mast sloop rig. The number of guns on a ship dictated the size of the complement of crew, so two and three masted "sloops of war" became more popular, carrying more guns than the single masted Bermuda Sloops.

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