Why the most common modern sailboat rig is named after a radio inventor

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Bermuda rig defines the silhouette of the modern sailboat, yet its name is a historical accident. While developed in the 17th century for island agility, it gained the moniker Marconi rig in the 20th century because its complex web of stabilizing wires resembled early radio transmission towers.

The Bermuda rig features a triangular sail set behind a mast, with its luff attached along the mast's length. Its origins trace back to the 17th century in Bermuda, where Dutch-born boat builder Jacob Jacobsen, employed by Governor Nathaniel Butler between 1619 and 1622, helped establish a local tradition of high-performance vessels. These early boats were influenced by Dutch bezaanjacht designs, which themselves evolved from Moorish lateen rigs. By the 1800s, Bermudian builders had refined these designs, replacing square topsails and gaff rigs with triangular mainsails and jibs to improve speed and agility, particularly when sailing upwind.

The transition to the modern, single-masted sloop configuration was driven by competitive racing in the early 1800s. Naval officer H. G. Hunt demonstrated the superiority of the single-masted sloop over the traditional schooner in the 1820s, leading to widespread adoption. These vessels were prized for their speed and ability to carry vast amounts of sail, aided by tall, raked masts and long bowsprits. As the rig evolved, innovations like hollow masts allowed for greater height and strength, eventually replacing the heavier, less efficient solid wooden masts of the past.

The term Marconi rig emerged in the early 20th century, specifically applied to the exceptionally tall rigs on large racing yachts like the J-class used in the America's Cup. Observers noted that the dense array of supporting cables required to stabilize these towering masts looked like the wireless antennas pioneered by Guglielmo Marconi. While some purists reserve the Marconi label for these extreme racing configurations, it is now frequently used interchangeably with the Bermuda rig. Modern versions have become significantly less extreme than their ancestors, typically featuring shorter booms, vertical masts, and the omission of the once-ubiquitous bowsprit.

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