Caulking Question

S

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Dec 26, 2023
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Geelong, Australia
The Bounty kit I am building has one side of the hull devoid of planking to expose the lower decks. Various cabins and storage areas on these decks are part of the build. The walls of these areas are lined with similar material to the deck planking. With the decks, I have followed the process of darkening the joints between the deck planks to simulate the oakum. I am wondering if the walls I am referring to would have originally had the same caulking applied, or was it deemed not necessary for internal structures?
 
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From my trips around the Victory and Trincomalee I have checked my photos of those visits and there is no caulking on the internal walls. Regards.
 
Wooden ships have two layers of planking; the outer layer fastened to the outside of the frames and an inner layer called Ceiling fastened to the inside of the frames. So from inside of the ship, the frames and outer planking would be invisible. The ceiling was a major contributor to the longitudinal strength of the ship’s hull. The ceiling, of course, did not need to be caulked to make the hull watertight but caulking did also contribute to the hull’s longitudinal strength by resisting shear stresses between adjacent planks.

So, depending on the situation, the ceiling might be caulked. Bounty was not a particularly large ship so it’s reasonable to assume that her ceiling was not caulked. Either way your not wrong.

Roger
 
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