Chesapeake Bay Sandbagger sloop by D Ramey Logan

A sandbagger sloop is a type of

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

made popular in the 19th century as a work vessel which also could be used as a pleasure craft. They are a descendant of shoal-draft

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

s used in

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

fishing in the shallow waters of

New York Bay New York Bay is the large tidal body of water in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary where the Hudson River, Raritan River, and Arthur Kill empty into the Atlantic Ocean between Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point. Geography New York Bay is usu ...

The term "sandbagger" refers to the use of

sandbags A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunkers, shielding gl ...

to shift the boat's center of gravity in order to obtain the most power from the sails. In practice, the sandbags were actually filled with

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

in order to keep them from retaining excessive amounts of water. The vessels could be anywhere from 20' to 30' feet in length, but with a sail area disproportionate to their size. They were crewed by between 10 and 15 men. An excellent example of a sandbagger is the sloop ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'', which is maintained by the

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

maritime museum.

References

* ''Ash Breeze'', 2006, Vol. 27 No. 4
pdf-file 4,0 MB
* C.H. Chapman: ''Racing Sandbaggers.'', Outing Volume XXVIII, May 2. 1896
pdf-file 1,1 MB

External links

Mystic Seaport's page on the ''Annie''

Friends of BULL and BEAR Sandbaggers
Sailboat types