Caulking the Boat

Well I must say I really enjoyed this afternoon we went to the shed the time just flew in. The lads had made the casing for the inside of the boat and they had fitted it at some speed since yesterday afternoon. The boat was turned back over and the excess wood had to be trimmed off. This was done really fast... then it came to putting the hemp into the grooves (which is called caulking) with a handmade tool to push the hemp in. Then the pitch was heated and then poured into the grooves using another homemade item a jug from a tin can. Very resourceful indeed....taking recycling to another level! Then an iron was used to melt the tar. I was surprised how fast the tar set. As I mentioned yesterday this has to be done properly because it can rot over time. The hemp and the wood both expand in the water.

Once again we had a very patient teacher and all the lads explain everything to us. The boat is amazing in the sense it's a great piece of engineering I think it's marvellous how the wood will expand in the water and this will further seal the boat. Usually you only think of keeping wood dry especially in a house. So here I'm seeing the opposite of how it floats and expands when wet, it's really funny.. you never think of these things. The lads are so hard working and take such pride in the work they are doing... It really shows in the boat the care taken to make it and everything is really thought out carefully. This boat will last a long time if maintained properly. A little video documenting to-day!