BOSTON -- History and tradition aren't enough to quiet the complaints from Charlestown residents who say the USS Constitution is a very noisy neighbor, The Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Residents of a nearby condominium complex have written to the ship's commanding officer saying Old Ironside's twice-daily cannon blasts -- a tradition dating to 1798 -- are “more disruptive to the neighborhood than you might have imagined.”

The ship's captain Timothy Cooper received the most recent complaint two weeks ago, The Boston Herald reported.

Neighbors suggested he eliminate the morning and evening blasts on weekends, reduce the size of the gunpowder charge and turn down the volume of the national anthem recording played during the daily flag raising and lowering ceremonies.

“The residential population and congestion of this area has grown significantly and, it seems to us, that the cannon charge/noise is excessive,” the Herald reported the complaint read.

“Over the summer, we have entertained several times, and we have had guests sit up in shock when the cannon goes off,” the residents wrote. “It has also awakened them at 8 a.m. while they are vacationing and then blasted them again at sunset.”

Condominium developments have been built across from the Charlestown Navy Yard over the past decade, placing homes where none existed before.

The ship was launched in 1797 and saw action against the French, Barbary pirates and the British in the War of 1812. The 204-foot-long battleship is equipped to hold 44 cannons. The daily gun salute fires one of the working guns every day at 8 a.m. and again at sunset.

Cooper said he was surprised by the complaint, but he wants to work with the residents. “We’re hoping to find a way where we can be good neighbors and maintain the tradition,” he told the Herald.

A spokesman told the newspaper that stopping the cannon fire would eliminate a time-honored patriotic ritual that draws tourists from all over the world.