Traditional Rigging Co.

Traditional Rigging Co. We are a full service sail and rigging loft specializing in the rigging and sails of traditional vessels.

Small business dedicated to the niche market of traditional vessels large and small.

05/01/2026

Some help making 12 1/2 sails from our Sr. Morale Officer🤣Have a good weekend!

Big or small, we do it all!
04/27/2026

Big or small, we do it all!

Well, we’re outta here. Officially wrapped up today after setting up the awning, the cherry on top was going to be a cou...
04/23/2026

Well, we’re outta here. Officially wrapped up today after setting up the awning, the cherry on top was going to be a courtesy deck wash but there were plumbing issues.
About six miles of cordage, a few hundred pounds of marline and seine twine, forty plus gallons of net dip, over a hundred new blocks, one fingernail, lots of good times, a few hard times, plenty of quality time with the serving mallets, and immense pride in the work we carried out for the ship, knowing most of it will never be considered by most people.
But it’s the details that count. Every little detail is in itself a work of art that contributes to the whole.
All this rigging work was carried out by the five of us over six months of record breaking weather both hot and cold. Only two of us had ever worked together before. Having said that, six months of intense work in difficult conditions that would crush normal people gave us a shared struggle that only made us more determined to do the absolute best we could for the ship, each other, and ourselves. I couldn’t be more proud of Made, Orion, Noah and Becca. This has been an epic adventure not likely to be repeated any time soon. There was a period when I had some serious misgivings about whether we could pull this off, but like they say the only way out is through. So we did it.
Constellation is certainly a unique vessel and we really hope she gets the care she desperately needs in the future. While she may not have the storied past like USS Constitution and is not one of the famed frigates, she is certainly no less noble. She needs support and if you live in Baltimore you should go see her for yourself. Bring a friend. Volunteer.
Many thanks to Steve Bountress at Living Classrooms for setting up the project and working with us through all the hiccups, the staff at Historic Ships in Baltimore, especially Sam and John for weathering a miserable winter with us and for granting us the space and time and especially to Stephanie for shutting the alarm off for us repeatedly. Thanks to Scott over at McLean and the various operators (all of whom have had the patience of a saint) of the 250T capacity Centennial, the coolest crane ever, and definitely the biggest one I’ve ever seen up close.

What a treat to work with cotton! This cotton is the real deal, old stock made in the first half of the 20th century.
04/10/2026

What a treat to work with cotton! This cotton is the real deal, old stock made in the first half of the 20th century.

04/03/2026

Rigging the main yard on Historic Ships in Baltimore ‘s CONSTELLATION. This yard is 90’ long and weights about 5600 # We can’t thank our crew of riggers enough for making this job go as smoothly as possible. Cheers!

It’s always some fiddly piece of hardware. Every. Single. Time.
03/25/2026

It’s always some fiddly piece of hardware. Every. Single. Time.

Sending out some love for our local community (and also the VW Jetta). These are Schooner MYSTIC WHALER's new sails head...
03/25/2026

Sending out some love for our local community (and also the VW Jetta). These are Schooner MYSTIC WHALER's new sails heading out across the country. We could not make these without our community, we cut them at the elementary school gym and ship them from the local tractor store as our road is posted this time of year. And this ‘01 Jetta is filling in for our van that is working in Baltimore. Almost 300K miles and Tom keeps making it go! I ❤️ Maine.

Our son is helping out in the loft on his spring break from college. World Ocean School ‘s DENIS SULLIVAN is getting ne...
03/13/2026

Our son is helping out in the loft on his spring break from college. World Ocean School ‘s DENIS SULLIVAN is getting new awnings. Thanks for the photos Captain Flansburg😊

It’s been a great week, three masts in two days of very good weather, a nice reprieve from the winter weather we’ve been...
02/27/2026

It’s been a great week, three masts in two days of very good weather, a nice reprieve from the winter weather we’ve been putting up with. More to follow.

Anyone up for deadeye jenga?
02/13/2026

Anyone up for deadeye jenga?

We’re putting the final details on Schooner MYSTIC WHALER’s new main sail. The leech at the clew is covered as this is ...
02/13/2026

We’re putting the final details on Schooner MYSTIC WHALER’s new main sail. The leech at the clew is covered as this is the hardest wearing part of a big gaff main.

Log from the rigging gang in Baltimore this week:“Day 98. Or 89. Dawn breaks cold and clear. Temps in the negative digit...
01/30/2026

Log from the rigging gang in Baltimore this week:
“Day 98. Or 89. Dawn breaks cold and clear. Temps in the negative digits, notably the most snowfall since 2016 according to the locals, strangely absent. I sent a couple crew out to see if they could catch a few ptarmigan for a stew and while they did come back with some offerings they also reported the harbor frozen mostly all the way across. In the distance they could see the water taxi had been out on icebreaking duty but their signals for assistance went unheeded. Water supplies have frozen in the tank, yet morale is still high.
Earlier in the week Hutchinson had been behaving oddly and while he was sent to the orlop deck as a distraction we went through his things and found the missing parts to the other Primus stove along with a small bag of fingernail clippings and the TV remote. He had been on light duty already and now we must find a way to keep him busy with something that doesn’t involve a knife.
By the end of the day we managed to haul the 300’ of 2” rope over the ice ridge and thirty feet into the tent.”

Address

Appleton, ME

Telephone

207.542.4385

Website

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