Friendship Sloop
The
Friendship Sloop is a style of
gaff-rigged sloop originated in
Friendship, Maine around 1880. Fishermen in Friendship and neighboring
Bremen collectively originated the design, one influenced by the fishing sailboats of
Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Friendship sloop was the dominant style of fishing boat off the coast of
Maine until the introduction of the
diesel engine early in the 20th century. Friendship-area boat builder Wilbur A. Morse produced many examples from the 1880s to the 1910s. Modern reproductions, both
wooden and
fiberglass, remain popular among enthusiasts.
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Friendship Sloop Society
