Bermudian Sloop

Description

Bermudian Sloop
Nimbery, – built 1897, – at Obed Ham Yachtworks

The term Bermuda rig also known as a Marconi rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 17th century but the term Marconi was a much later reference to the inventor Guglielmo Marconi, whose wireless radio masts resembled Bermuda rigs. The Marconi rig defines only the way a mast is supported. Additional sails were also often mounted on traditional Bermudian craft, when running down wind, which included a spinnaker, with a spinnaker boom, and additional jibs.
After WWII, with the advent of plywood and fiberglass pleasure craft construction, large numbers of sloops from 12 foot dinghies to thirty and forty footers were built in the shops and shipyards around Mahone Bay; manufacturer names included Paceship, MacVay and Mahone Bay Plycraft.