THE SANDHILL
FAST · WEATHERLY · DEADLY ☠
A Bermuda sloop of the Golden Age — the museum’s full reconstruction, after the documented record
Why the pirates chose her
- Fast and weatherly — her fore-and-aft rig sailed within five points of the wind, where the square-riggers fell away.
- Shallow draft (4–6 ft) — over reefs and river-mouths that grounded a naval frigate.
- Small crew, larger share — forty to eighty hands, so every man’s cut ran deeper.
- Cheap to build and keep — Bermuda cedar, careened clean on any quiet beach.
- Handy — worked by as few as eight in light airs.
Specifications
- Type
- Single-masted Bermuda sloop
- Length
- ~50–70 ft on deck
- Beam
- 15–20 ft
- Draft
- 4–6 ft
- Burthen
- 40–80 tons
- Crew
- 40–80 hands
- Guns
- 6–12 (3–6 per broadside)
- Rig
- Fore-and-aft (Bermudian gaff): mainsail & jib
- Speed
- 12–14 knots
- Hull
- Cedar on oak frames
The Sandhill — Cutaway
the hull sliced open, stem to stern
Quarterdeck
Command and steering; the captain and officers aft.
Gun deck
The battery, worked by the crew; powder and shot to hand.
Hold
Provisions, water casks, spare rigging — and plunder.
Forecastle
Anchors, sail stores and crew berths, forward.
Orlop
Mess, weapon racks, the carpenter’s and cooper’s work.
Deck Plan (top view)
officers’ quarters aft, crew quarters forward
Aft — the great cabin
Captain and officers: cot, chart table, the stern lights.
Amidships
The mainmast, the capstan, the hold hatches, the boat.
Forward
Crew quarters and the galley; hammocks slung below.
The rail
Guns ranged along both sides; the tiller aft, bowsprit forward.
Crew Hierarchy & Roles
every hand a sailor, a gunner, and a fighter — the economy of double duty
| Rank | Duty | In a fight |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | Elected; navigation and overall command. | Leads; can be deposed by vote. |
| Quartermaster | Elected; stores, plunder, discipline, the articles. | Leads the boarders. |
| Boatswain | Rigging, anchors, ship’s work. | Sail handler under fire. |
| Master gunner | Guns, powder, shot. | Serves the battery. |
| Carpenter | Hull and mast repair, damage control. | Plugs shot-holes; general hand. |
| Surgeon | Wounds, amputations, health. | Dresses the wounded. |
| Cook | The galley and provisions. | Powder and deck work. |
| Sailmaker & Cooper | Sails; barrels and casks. | Rigging and general crew. |
| Seamen / boarders | Sails, pumps, anchors, all labour. | The boarding party. |
Double duty, double the advantage. A small, versatile crew kept her running around the clock, made her deadly in any situation, and meant fewer shares — so each hand earned more, and had more reason to stay loyal.
Plunder Division (typical shares)
set down in the ship’s articles, agreed by all
*Gunner, carpenter, surgeon, cook, sailmaker, cooper. A lost limb was paid out first, before any man took his share.
“A fast hull, a fair share, and articles that every hand set his mark to — that was the sloop’s truest rigging.”☠ from the museum’s narration
The Sandhill is the museum’s reconstruction of a documented Bermuda sloop. Her master in our story, Rodrigo Costa, is fiction; the vessel and her particulars are drawn from the record.