Sloop
A Sloop is a single-masted sailing vessel carrying one mainsail behind the mast and one headsail (jib or genoa) forward of it. Simple, efficient and easy to sail, the sloop is by far the most common rig on modern sailing yachts and dinghies.
Concentrating the sail plan on a single mast with just two working sails makes the sloop aerodynamically efficient (especially upwind) and straightforward to handle, which is why it dominates today. It contrasts with the two-masted ketch, yawl and schooner rigs, which split their sail area for easier handling of larger boats. The sloop is the benchmark modern sailing rig and a core term in the vocabulary of sailing-vessel types.
Picture a sailing boat and you're almost certainly picturing a sloop — one mast, a mainsail and a jib. Its simplicity and upwind efficiency made it the dominant modern rig, the baseline against which the two-masted ketch, yawl and schooner are understood.
What defines a sloop?
A single mast carrying one mainsail and one headsail (jib) — the simplest and most common sailing rig.
Why is the sloop so popular?
It is aerodynamically efficient, especially upwind, and easy to handle with just one mast and two sails.