"Caulking with Cotton"

When wooden boats are taken out of the water the wood shrinks so, before she can go back into the water, the
seams must be caulked with a material that will slow the ingress of water until the planks have had a chance to swell.
Oakum (made from old sisal rope) is preferred for this but cotton is also used.  The device in the worker's hand
is a caulking iron which is used with a wooden mallet to drive the cotton into the seams until the hull "rings".

24x40in  2005  acrylic on canvas