Sloop

A vessel having one mast and fore and aft rig consisting of a boom and gaff mainsail jibs staysail and gaff topsail The typical sloop has a fixed bowsprit topmast and standing rigging while those of a cutter are capable of being readily shifted The sloop usually carries a centerboard and depends for stability upon breadth of beam rather than depth of keel The two types have rapidly approximated since 1880 One radical distinction is that a sloop may carry a centerboard See Cutter and Illustration in Appendix