My Ancestor Solomon Hartley (1775-1815) Was A Rigger: What Did That Mean?

I've gleaned from Philadelphia city directories in the early 1800s that Solomon Hartley, my 4th great grandfather, was a rigger (and once referred to as a mariner).

So I am assuming his primary work involved working the rigging (rope, pulleys, and sails) on a ship. I'm not sure what kind of ship, although I suspect commercial (there is a family story that he had gone to China once on a several-year trip and brought back dishes).

I've included his 3-part video shows plenty of rigging action on a traditionally rigged ship The Sørlandet to get an idea of what that looked like (warning, very technical):

Some more footage (vastly less technical) is from "World of Discovery - Tall Ships: High Sea Adventure", aboard The Danmark:

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