Restoring Rosalind, Episode 20: Caulking a Wooden Boat

Everyone's done their version of a caulking video, and since we've finished with the whiskey plank, might as well do ours. Though this was quite a few months back, we think there's good value in looking at Andrew's collected tools and wisdom. With the hull of this historic boat partially faired, Andrew is ready to start the caulking process.

The current state of the boat is well past this, and we'll get to that next time. The engine is on its beds, bulwarks are in, a cabin house is almost ready for sheathing in fiberglass, and some interior joinery has begun.

Rosalind, a vernacular working sailboat built in St. Ives by William Paynter, has had a long and well traveled life. She's being rebuilt in Mystic, Connecticut by Andrew Guest, a boatbuilder and restorer who had already been thinking about building a lugger when he found this one destined for the chainsaw in Oxford, Maryland. Subscribe to this channel to follow and support her extensive restoration.

***WISHLIST: We absolutely need to replenish our supply of fasteners. Please consider sending in a donation so we can keep going—joining Patreon or sending a one-time donation (link below) is the best way to help. Thank you!

[theconfessionsof_a]

Hi from England. It's really nice to see another episode, please keep them coming when you can. I like your take on caulking, especially passing the skills on to others. Delighted to see you and Anne working together, as delighted as when Anne sent me an A to A baseball hat (Arranged by my daughter Eleanor) nice T-Shirt BTW 👌

[maureenmillard]

Watched an interesting YT about the old Tasmanian boat builders, , they used wood wedges of the same timber as the planks to calk instead of cotton, they started out with cotton below the waterline and wood above, then switched to wood for both! Sometimes just the garboard with cotton only, rest was wood. Cheers Mal in au.

[richardsiddon]

Great to see an update guys!
Thankyou for taking time to share.🙂

[sailingyachtrocknroll]

Looking good. Nice to see another video, worth waiting for 😊

[MurfittTim]

I really enjoy your videos, they are very informative without being preachy or showing off. There is just a nice feel about the whole project and what you are doing. Of course it would be nice if you posted a bit more often as i and am sure others are keen to know how you are getting on. All the best and hope things are progressing well.

[robertbruce]

Glad you're back with the enjoy checking in on your project. Keep up the good work.

[reynoldsrunabouts]

Anne, I am glad to see that you are working with Andrew! Awsome videos to come, I am sure. It was nice meeting you at the WoodenBoat Show alongside Arabella.

[billmeldrum]

Nice to see you back ! Love this project. 🇨🇦

[robm.]

Nice piece on caulking.
Rosalind is looking fantastic, hats off on the fairing job, I know what an arm and back destroying exercise it is but the result is beautiful.
Cheers, R. 😎👍🍻

[ian-c.]

I understood the reason for the caulking mallet's unusual shape was to encourage a more comfortable and less tiring body position. It allows you to keep your shoulders square to the work and your hands further apart, it produces better movement and allows you to work from the shoulders.

[mathijs]

Great explanation of your take on caulking. Interesting. Nice T-shirt too ;-)

[davidprocter]

Have just got to say, what lovely lines that old fishing boat has.Here's power to your elbow. I had hoped to see her back in UK waters sadly I don't think this will happen for me, never mind it still gives me pleasure to think of her back here.running in the waters she was built for.Good luck.

[AndyUK-Corrival]

Nice video. I’ve caulked a few boats with oakum and cotton. I would suggest the guy at the end who is left handed is working correctly right to left but right handed should work left to right so you can use your index finger to lift and tuck the cotton before striking it into the seam. Then following with the crease iron at an angle half in the seam already driven and half on the cotton to be driven in means less likely to catch the edge of the plank with the iron and damage it. I’m pretty sure the pointed iron is for the seams around the stem and stern post as they are much deeper and the caulking needs to be driven right into the seam as the planks don’t swell as much lengthwise. I can’t recall if it has a special name. Boat is looking beautiful though. Andy UK

[TrapShooter]

Good to see you back. Nice work!
Personally, I'd remove all the rust from those beautiful caulking irons using electrolysis (it's simple) and then get a bottle or 2 of Birchwood's Perma Blue (inexpensive) to prevent future rust. Save them for the next generation of boat builders!

[ginacicotello]

You guys really nailed this (and NO I’m not trying to make a pun about hammering stuff 😅). We saw a caulking demo at WB Show that was kinda all over the place. You explained a lot of finer points with crystal clarity. The model showing how planks align is especially cool.

One thing I did learn was that the design of a caulking mallet is partially to minimize swing motion. It’s a lot of work to do a hull, so the less repetitive motion on your joints, the better.

[krockpotbroccoli]

Nice progress. With the last video being 5 months ago I feared that the project had been abandoned. Great to see that everything is progressing! I'm wearing my lug life t shirt as I type this.

[reddogleader]

Thank you so much for this video. What sort of fasteners are in short supply?

[pagegreer]

You do not post that much
But progress and the informative part is outstandinding

[grahamm]

Presumably where "money for old rope" comes from. Although I have heard other reasons