Sloop

The sloop was a small, single-masted, fore-and-aft rigged vessel prized by Caribbean pirates for its speed, shallow draft, and maneuverability in coastal shoals where larger warships could not follow. Originating in Jamaica and Bermuda, sloops carried oversized crews for boarding actions despite mounting few guns. This combination of speed and stealth made the sloop the preferred raiding vessel of the early 18th-century Golden Age of Piracy.