SCHOONER POLES

About Our Traditional Wooden  Poles

(Wood Flagpole Construction Photos)

(Wood Flagpole Labled Drawing)

In 1970 I went to visit Mert Long, an 80-year old shipwright from Maine who moved to Cape Cod in 1918.  I went to see him about learning to build a small boat.  At his shop I noticed 5 or 6 flagpoles in various stages of development, and after discussing construction of small boats I inquired about the poles.  From here a long friendship started, and in time he passed along to me his knowledge of sparmaking in the traditional manner used in the schooner boatyards of Maine. 

Mert made his truck out of butt stock, and we still do.  This stock resists cracking in the sun and the elements.  It is a primitive, highly efficient pulley system - the halyard goes up one hole in the truck and down another.  The "roller" of the pulley is the smooth truck itself, thus there are no moving parts.

His signature flagpoles had one massive side post that tapered up to the pole.  We have followed that tradition, and have improved it by using long lasting pressure-treated yellow pine for the side post.  Our smaller residential flagpoles (15' to 25'R) are easily lowered by one person for seasonal storage or maintenance.

Mert's flagpoles had a beautiful shape, he had the formula and the eye for  tapering and following the large sticks of wood that he used.  We still make our flagpoles out of solid Douglas Fir square timbers, shaping them down with saws and planes and drawknives, until they are round  and tapered.  We made a large lathe to improve our efficiency on the finishing end, but our poles are made mostly by hand, following the traditional shaping methods and specifications.

Mert finished his poles with 3 coats of marine white paint.  We still use marine white paint, but we have added an undercoating of marine West System epoxy which makes our poles watertight, just like a boat.  Our last coat of acrylic paint is the most ultra violet protection available.  It's a beautiful high-gloss, yet warm finish, designed to withstand our harsh New England weather.  We suggest repainting our wood poles every 5 to 8 years, depending on exposure.  Otherwise, they are maintenance free.

I have enjoyed working on the wooden poles, it's very satisfying to produce beautiful flagpoles that stand the test of time and weather.  Mert passed his knowledge on; it's still being used and it's still being passed on to others.