Talk:Sloop

message: More material needed. For instance:
Control lines
Stays
Masthead vz 4/5 etc
Also, the History section must be verified and supplemented.
-- Egil 07:58 Feb 11, 2003 (UTC)
The Bluenose was a fishing schooner. What's it doing here?
-- Ed Milne Oct 19, 2003
I cleaned up the section on Jamaican Sloops.  The rambling and grammar was pretty bad, so I tried to make it more cohesive, linear and encyclopedic (it sounded somewhat juvenile, or translated from a foreign language).  None of the other sections seemed quite so egregious, but I'm sure the whole article could use an overhaul.  The Cap'n (talk) 19:48, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

message: This may be OK for sailors, but not for lay people. The opening sentences are baffling. Readers cannot be expected to click on so many links to find definitions of the terms -- it would be an almost never-ending story. It needs to be understandable in itself, with the links available for more detailed information. Please could someone in the know fix this? APW (talk) 15:07, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Pawebster's points taken, I will endeavor to address them. That having been said, I must acknowledge that this, as it stands now on the 4th of September, 2009, is one of the hands-down best-written articles I've yet seen on Wikipedia. To whomever is the original author, my hat is off to you. rowley (talk) 18:00, 4 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Too difficult to understand 

message: I'm having trouble with the concept of calling a sloop "modern"  when it dates back hundreds of years.  In general modern is associated with the latest and greatest and there are many experiments going on in completely different sail designs.  I'm trying to think of anything else we call modern that is this this old.Pbmaise (talk) 06:21, 9 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: All good points. A historian (which I am not) would, I believe, consider "modern" to be anything from the renaissance to present day, whilst what was "modern" in 2011 may already be out of date in 2019! Best avoid the vexatious word altogether and as Steverlou suggests be specific:  e.g. "early 20th century" or even "by 1980 [add cite] a sloop was defined strictly by number of headsails". See also my comment on Sloops vs Cutters below.  D Anthony Patriarche (talk) 13:46, 26 February 2019 (UTC)
thread_title: Modern?

message: "Ultimately, the position of the mast is the most important factor in determining whether a ship is classified as a sloop." I disagree.  The distinction is solely a matter of the number of headsails; and the mast position is simply a function of that fact.   For example, some catamaran sloops have a huge genoa foresail and a tiny mainsail, while others have a more conventional small jib; and the mast is moved forward or aft in consequence.   Arrivisto (talk) 00:06, 6 September 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Like Steverlou (above) I was taught that a cutter is defined by mast position; that in turn determines the number of headsails that may conveniently be carried. Clearly, local usage varies, and the terminology is evolving. Here on Vaancouver Island an acquaintance owns a cutter-rigged sloop. To further muddy the waters, the body of the article describes a particular sloop with multiple headsails; presumably, such a vessel is a sloop either by its mast position or by mere convention.  D Anthony Patriarche (talk) 14:02, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

text: A further thought occurs to me: We define a yawl, ketch and schooner by the number & position of masts. Why would a sloop be different? There are many pictures online of classic Bermuda sloops with 2 or more headsails. --D Anthony Patriarche (talk) 00:50, 27 February 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sloops vs Cutters 

message: Please clarify: "In the USA a sloop may have one, two or three head-sails forward of the mast—the term cutter not generally being used for sailboats. In the rest of the English speaking world, a sloop has only one head-sail and if a vessel has two or more head-sails, she is termed a 'cutter' and its mast may be set further aft than on a sloop." Also, a citation is needed that references the cultural differences in the naming of these vessels.
PriestAB (talk) 17:59, 28 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Clarification and Citation Needed

message: “A sloop has a simple system of mast stays—a forestay, backstay, and sidestays.” I need to be careful here because I am no authority on nautical terms but I haven't come across the term "sidestay" before. It is clear what is meant. Is it the standard in some particular region? I have looked up the term  in a number of dictionaries and such as “en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_nautical_terms#S” and I can't find a single example of it. I have changed it to the standard “shroud”. PeterColdridge (talk) 22:25, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sidestay?