How to customize ships in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves starts players on equal footing, yet there's still a variety of way to stand out on the seas. With few upgrades and progression beyond your initial skill set, unique cosmetics are the main drive keep climbing to the ranks of Pirate Legend. A vast collection of ship cosmetics is also up for grabs, providing a fresh flair to your galleon or sloop.

We've wrapped up how to obtain and equip Sea of Thieves' ships cosmetics, following its latest update.

Purchasing ship cosmetics in Sea of Thieves

Like most of Sea of Thieves cosmetic items, a majority of cosmetic ship items are accessed from the appropriate outpost vendor. Shipwrights stock new figureheads, hulls, sails, and flags, all in exchange for a sum of gold. However beware – with a majority of items priced into five digits, you'll need to work to unlock them. Here's where and how to purchase new ship cosmetics in Sea of Thieves.

  1. Visit any outpost.
  2. Locate the shipwright, located on the outpost's main pier.
  3. Press X to initiate conversation with the merchant when prompted.
  4. Press A to begin browsing merchant stock.
  5. Initiate a purchase by pressing A over an item. Ensure your gold balance is equal to, or higher, than the item's value.

After completing the transaction, this item is now yours to keep.

Equipping ship cosmetics in Sea of Thieves

After purchasing new ship cosmetics, you'll need to equip them before setting sail. Ship customization takes place exclusively within outposts, using a dedicated chest on the pier. Equipped items will be instantly reflected on your ship, providing the opportunity to preview customization before getting onboard. Here's how to quick most cosmetics in Sea of Thieves:

  1. Locate the Ship Customization Chest next to the shipwright.
  2. Press X to open the chest when prompted.
  3. Choose an item from your current inventory. Use LB and RB to filter by customization type.
  4. Press A to equip this customization item. Repeat these steps to fully equip your ship.

Items can be freely equipped and unequipped for no additional cost gold. All unequipped items will be retired your ship's customization chest and available for later use.

Equipping flags

Flags are the latest addition in Sea of Thieves' ship customization, allowing pirates to fly a variety of designs on top of their sails. Unlike most ship customization, flags can be changed on the fly, using a specialist box located at the top of the crow's nest. This is accessible after installing Sea of Thieves' mandatory "The Hungering Deep" update.

  1. Locate the Flag Customization Chest, located at your ship's crow's nest.
  2. Press X to open the chest when prompted.
  3. Choose a flag from your current inventory.
  4. Press A to equip your flag.

Following the feature's rollout, all players are given a variety of flags from the outset. Seven flags are up for grabs form the start, ranging from colors and patterns to the iconic jolly roger. Unlike like other ship cosmetics, the ability to change on move makes this a viable communication method with other players.

Complete list of ship cosmetics

They might be hard to obtain, though there's an expansive list of ship cosmetics available in Sea of Thieves. These are all the items currently available, following the release of The Hungering Deep.

Every flag in Sea of Thieves

  • White Flag
  • Checkered Flag
  • Black Flag
  • Blue Flag
  • Yellow Flag Red Flag
  • Jolly Roger Flag
  • Shark Hunter Flag

Every hull in Sea of Thieves

  • Bilge Rat Hull
  • Scurvy Bilge Rat Hull
  • Castaway Bilge Rat Hull
  • Sea Dog Hull
  • Rogue Sea Dog Hull
  • Ruffian Sea Dog Hull
  • Admiral Hull
  • Ceremonial Admiral Hull
  • Grand Admiral Hull
  • Sovereign Hull
  • Royal Sovereign Hull
  • Shark Hunter Hull
  • Legendary Hull

Every sail in Sea of Thieves

  • Black Sailor Sail
  • Grass Green Sailor Sail
  • Red Sailor Sail
  • Royal Blue Sailor Sail
  • Yellow Sailor Sail
  • Bilge Rat Sail
  • Scurvy Bilge Rat Sail
  • Castaway Bilge Rat Sail
  • Sea Dog Sail
  • Rogue Sea Dog Sail
  • Ruffian Sea Dog Sail
  • Admiral Sail
  • Ceremonial Admiral Sail
  • Grand Admiral Sail
  • Sovereign Sail
  • Royal Sovereign Sail
  • Shark Hunter Sail
  • Vanguard Sail
  • Legendary Sail

Every figurehead in Sea of Thieves

  • Bilge Rat Figurehead
  • Scurvy Bilge Rat Figurehead
  • Castaway Bilge Rat Figurehead
  • Sea Dog Figurehead
  • Rogue Sea Dog Figurehead
  • Ruffian Sea Dog Figurehead
  • Admiral Figurehead
  • Ceremonial Admiral Figurehead
  • Grand Admiral Figurehead
  • Sovereign Figurehead
  • Royal Sovereign Figurehead
  • Shark Hunter Figurehead
  • Legendary Figurehead

Over to you

Which are your favorite ship cosmetics in Sea of Thieves? Drop into the comments below with your top picks.

Sea of Thieves Interview: Adding a fourth content team, future updates, and The Hungering Deep

Matt Brown

Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.