Caulking the Deck

Sealing the Decks for the Summer One of the best things we can do to keep everyone comfortable on board the J. & E. Riggin is keep things dry. Especially in the cabins. The best way to keep the cabins dry, is to make sure there is plenty of material in between the pine planks that form the deck. The gaps between the planks are called seams and they are packed tightly with cotton and oakum before being sealed with a layer of hot pitch. As the boat sails, it bows and flexes in the water, causing some seams to loosen up over time and begin to leak. In the winter, we do our best to identify problem spots and remove wet material between the planks before replacing it, and sealing it with fresh pitch. This process is called caulking. Captain Schaefer spends a lot of time each winter crawling across the deck fixing seams, so we joined him on deck for a demonstration.

The Right Tools for the Job Capt. Schaefer makes his way down to the boat with a milk crate containing caulking cotton, oakum, an assortment of caulking & reefing irons of different thicknesses and lengths, and a caulking mallet. The cotton is just very loosely spun fluffy bales of cotton. Oakum is loosely twisted hemp or jute fiber wet with pine tar. The irons are meant to drive the fibers into the v-shaped gaps between planks when struck by the caulking mallet. A caulking mallet is a wooden mallet designed to minimize damage to the irons and to the joints of the user by absorbing the shock of each impact.

Probing and Reefing the Seams Capt. Schaefer begins by poking the seams with the tip of his knife. If the knife fails to penetrate the seam he knows it is still densely packed. If the tip of the knife sinks right in, he knows he has identified a problem spot. He then uses a reefing iron and a rubber mallet to dig into the seam and extract the rotten fiber. Once all of the rotten fiber has been removed, it is time to start filling it again.

Packing the Seam Capt. Schaefer chooses the right iron for the seam by inspecting the size of the seam and where it is located. “When I am driving cotton I use a thinner iron to start” he says. He lines up a long strand of cotton and systematically pounds it into the seam, driving it in in small arches that overlap slightly. He will then go back after this initial pass and drive the cotton deeper into the seam. Once the cotton is in place, he makes a pass with a layer of oakum. “If I am driving oakum, I will use a wider iron which matches the width of the seam I am working on. I even have irons that are slightly bent for those seams that are against the side of a cabin house.” In the same way he drove the cotton, he drives a thick layer of oakum on top so there is only about a quarter of an inch of space from the oakum to the top of the plank.

Sealing the Seam Now that the seam is packed with fresh fiber, he is ready to add the pitch and seal it. Captain Schaefer, chisels off a few chunks of pitch from a brick. Pitch is a viscoelastic polymer which is derived from coal tar in the process of its distillation. The pitch is put in a can and heated until it is a liquid. It is poured over the seam and left to harden and cool. Sometimes the word pitch is used interchangeably with the word tar, but tar is generally a bit thinner than pitch, while pitch hardens into a solid. Once the pitch has hardened any excess is scraped from the surrounding planks. Hopefully, with the problem seams identified and replaced, we will stay cozy and dry in our cabins throughout the summer!

The Tradition of Flags

The tradition of raising flags at 8:00am and lowering them at sunset dates all the way back to the late 1700s in the British Royal Navy. It is still practiced by today’s navy, as well as many merchant and private vessels around the world. The Schooner J. & E. Riggin is no exception. 

We fly an ensign, which in our case as a U.S.-flagged vessel, is the American flag. This is flown off of the peak of our mainsail when it is set, or off of the back of the main boom when the sail is down. It is used to communicate to other vessels where our vessel is registered. It is the first flag up each day, and the last one down.

The name pennant is flown from the top of the mainmast to give everyone who sees us the ability to read our name clearly. 

The house flag is flown at the top of our foremast this is intended to communicate something about the ownership, but until we have a house flag designed, we have decided to use the classic State of Maine Dirigo flag. 

The final flag you can expect to see aboard the Riggin is the “R” or Romeo flag and the First Repeater. We use this combination on the main spreader to communicate the presence of a Riggin Relic aboard a cruise. 

This week we saw the first of many raising of the ship’s colors for the 2021 season. Though historically greeted with the call of a bugle, ours was greeted with excitement and cheers from the crew.

Back in Action

After nearly a year of sitting stationary, the Schooner J. & E. Riggin left the dock yesterday under the direction of her new captains, Justin Schaefer & Jocelyn Schmidt. She was bound for North End Shipyard, for her annual haul out. The crew relished in the cool spring breeze on their faces, something they all had missed in their time away. 

“It would have been powerful to take her off the dock for the first time regardless of whether or not she had sailed last year.” Jocelyn said. “There was something exceptionally powerful about getting to be the ones to take her out, even just for the short run to the shipyard knowing that it was the first time in a year she had had the chance to stretch her legs. It feels like the start of a really special summer, and the reality of being able to have a season this year is pretty emotional for us.” 

This haul-out will be brief, just to put fresh paint on the bottom and replace the zincs which protect the metal beneath the water from electrolysis. 

“It feels good to be back out on the water and to return to a familiar routine with the vessel after a year of lying dormant,” said Captain Schaefer. “Generations of Riggin crew spanning several seasons came out to offer their collective support & wisdom which made for an extremely special day.” 

Spring at Home & Sea

Spring at Home

Spring has arrived at our home.

The grass is getting greener.

The flowers have been lying dormant,

but now, they peek out from beneath the soil

which has protected them from the harshness of winter.

The days are longer and the breeze is warmer.

Soon, the air will begin to fill with familiar floral smells.

They define the season around our home.

The familiar buzz of our honeybees will be heard throughout the yard.

The birds will be travelling back to us

with stories of their time away,

chirping and chattering on the lawn.

We love this time of year

when everything seems to awaken.

Spring at Sea

Spring has also arrived at the cove.

The water is getting warmer.

The Riggin has been lying dormant,

but now, she will emerge, peering out from beneath the plastic cover

which has protected her from the harshness of winter.

The work days are longer and the breeze is warmer.

Soon, the air will begin to fill with the familiar smells of pine & paint.

They define the season around our docks.

The familiar buzz of sanders & saws will be heard throughout the vessel.

The crew will be travelling back to us

with stories of their time away,

laughing and chatting on the deck.

We love this time of year

when everything seems to awaken.

“Peter Pan” Spotted on the Riggin

Photo by Captain Jon Finger

Shenanigans on a Maine Windjammer

Photo by Captain Jon Finger