Sloop
sail boat with a single mast and a fore-and-aft rig / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A sloop is a sailboat usually with one mast and fore-and-aft rigged sails.[1] It can also describe a square rigged sailing ship of two or more masts which is sometimes called a sloop of war.[1] The French called them corvettes.[2] Originally the definition of a sloop was vague. A 1750 book said sloops "are sailed and masted as men's fancies lead them, sometimes with one mast, with two, and with three."[2] Modern recreational sloops are almost always one-masted sailing ships with fore-and-aft sails.[3] Their simple layout makes them popular with amateur sailors.[3] The sloop is a manageable sailboat layout up to a length of about 45 feet (14 m).[3]