Navy·Technology obsolescence·In Memoriam
Sailmaker's Mate
Served: 1797–1893
Assistant to the Sailmaker — hands-on canvas-and-needle labor of sail repair, working aloft when the rigging tore.
The Story
On USS Constitution the Sailmaker's Mate made $19/month — one dollar more than the Cooper or Armorer, because rigging work was both dangerous and constant. The senior Sailmaker survived as a warrant role; the Mate did not.
Epitaph
“Stitched the wind back together until the wind stopped being the point.”
Sources
- USS Constitution Museum — Ranks & Ratesussconstitutionmuseum.org