Oakum

[T.A.R.]

I'm about to start caulking Good Fortune and wondered if anyone could give me a few pointers on using oakum I do have plenty of experience with cotton. The seams to be done are small sections. I wish I had the time to recaulk the entire bottom instead of repairing spots.
Anything would be appreiciated. Thanks Ted

[Dave Fleming]

Do you have real Norwegian Oakum or "plumbers oakum"?

The first is what you are needing.

Oakum comes in bales. The Oakum is in 'slivers' ie: coarsely shaped threads. This must be spun to a thinnner more compact shape, a true thread.

We did it by unbaling the Oakum and carefully coiling the sliver/s into a big bucket.

Then find a nice shady spot, a stool or a wooden crate and make a pillow out of canvas filled with corking cotton. Plant yer 'tush'on the pillow and place a piece of heavy canvas on yer right knee, if you are right handed, left knee if left handed.
Place an empty bucket on the opposite side.
Gently draw the sliver of Oakum bucket with the left hand and with the right begin a rolling motion over the sliver whilst gently keeping tension or a slight pulling on the sliver with the left hand.
This is how you compact the sliver into something more like a thread.
While you are doing this you are making sure there are no snags, pieces of stuff, lumps of dirt etc., in the sliver/thread. Anything like that must be removed.
Plan to spend a day or so doing this or until all the Oakum has been spun.

You can leave the spun Oakum in buckets ***don't overload the bucket*** better to have several. Those 5 gallon white buckets that come from restrauants or fast food joints are good as then should have no snags or interior projections to catch the finished thread.

Or you can make up 'hanks' of the spun Oakum and place them in a canvas open top bag ready for use.

A little Kerosene on yer hands helps with lubrication and keeps down the accumulation of tar on yer hands as you spin the Oakum.

NOTE: NO SMOKING NOR OPEN FLAMES WHILST WORKING WITH OAKUM!!

***Oakum Is A Highly flammable material***

A thermos filled with tea or coffee is nice to keep along side yer stool

[Hughman]

Give some info about the seams. Plank material, age, size of boat, picture, etc.

[nedL]

Don't you always start with cotton regardless of the size of seam? On light planking (small seams)you use only cotton & on heavy planking (large seams) you start with a first pass of cotton & come back with a second pass, or more, with oakum. Finish both off with paint & seam compound.

[Bob Cleek]

Oakum is for BIG seams. Another handy byproduct of the hemp industry!

[T.A.R.]

Thank you gentlemen. The boat is a 46'(lod) schooner based on the Tancook Whalers she was designed by Crocker built in 1939 in Harwich port Ma. Steam bent white oak frames 1 3/8" cedar with some mahogany replacements. The seams are in general decent for her age some are big. There was oakum in the seams that I reefed. Some where along the line cotton was banged in over the oakum the cotton rotted. I'll try to put up some pics.

[sawcutmill]

Lets see some pictures! lol stephen