This is the best that is available. Made from NEW Best Hemp. It is clean from knots and yarns, is long stranded and has no lumps or ends of old sacking. Rolls out a treat. This oakum is soaked in Tar Oil. This is a tree oil that is distilled from Pine Trees (You call it Stockholm Tar). In fact there are around 26 different Tar oils and the farther north one goes the better the quality. Of course most of us refer to this as Stockholm Tar. After being soaked in Tar oil the oakum is then spun out in a centrifuge.

My Oakum is made especially for TBS and only to order. It has a far higher content of tar oil than others. Hence the extra packing with a plastic bag interior and then the normal hessian sacking.

Supplied in 20 kilo bales. Samples on request.

A far better quality and lovely soft Caulking Cotton like we used to enjoy.

"This Cotton is the finest money can buy and takes us back to the quality of years ago. Highly Recommended"

For many years now I along with many of you have used Marineflex, Sikaflex Purflex etc to name just a few.

Having had wooden boats for over 60 years I have seen the ravages Ultra Violet light can cause. UV has a tendancy to harden products like these over time and then they crack and break down so allowing the bond between deck seam and product to fail and let fresh water in.

Although I am "Traditional" I have to keep up with modern technology so I have now taken on this deck seam product in place of Marineflex.

What is the difference? First SIS 440 is USA made. Its far softer than other seam compounds which in my opinion will stand UV for a much longer period. It is not Isocyanite (such as Sikaflex) or Polyurethane (such as Marineflex) It is a completely different product and as such does not need a primer like others. Simple to use, fits standard skeleton guns, cures in 48 hours. I am doing the complete new deck of my own boat which is in Pitch Pine. The covering boards and around the tops of the frames which come up through are already done as with capping the bulwarks I would have been unable to get at the caulking seams.

The product is much softer than others and it is easy to gun in.Shelf life is 18 months !!

This is an old and well proven fairing compound for use below the waterline as a substitute for lead based stopping. We make and supply this special formula to which cement powder is added until the mixture achieves the consistency of a stiff bread dough.

It WILL NOT go hard as one would think but remain flexible in the seam for many years. After hardening up the caulking or renewing it, prime direct from the can into the seam and leave for an hour or so. Then either trowel or gun into the seam. Fair off with a stiff pallet knife dipping it in either linseed oil or white spirit. Black Pudding will remain on the soft side so flexing with working seams and butts. In my 50 odd years with wooden boats, experience has shown me that there is to my knowledge no other product with the ability to adhere to wet timber making it ideal for working with between tides.

I know from my own experience having had to rake out a garboard seam, recaulk, fair and antifoul with one eye often looking over my shoulder at the making tide. Modern isocyanites cannot do this unless primed and applied to dry timber. Black Pudding is a derivitive of Coal Tar to which other ingredients are added to stop the cement going hard. Fair the seams with Black Pudding and relaunch within 2 weeks.

May we suggest Metaclor C.R. Primer. This primer is made with chlorinated rubber (C.R) and is an excellent waterproof barrier. 2 coats then anti-foul. (see under Paints >> Antifoul. )

For use above the waterline so that it does not contaminate paint colour, i.e. showing tramlines through the paint. However with modern paints such as METACLOR C.R. Primers two coats of this and it hides just about anything from my own experience. The mix is usually 60% White lead with 40% putty added to make it go further. When you have a good ball mixed add a thumb nail of motor grease and mix in well. This will slow down the drying of the putty that gives the cracks one sees in old seams.

This is often bought with Raw Linseed Oil to make either a paste or an emulsion which is painted on to the canvas between double diagonal planking.

For mixing in with linseed oil putty and stopping seams below the water line. Again a small amount of motor grease added will help.

Can be used straight from the tin/keg with a pallet knife into the seam. If when finished "fairing in" dip a clean pallet knife in Linseed oil and work back the other way. It will iron out any little holes and leave it like a babys bum ready for the primer paint

To those of you using this for the first time fair/sand your hull FIRST and then when "fair" apply Red Lead Putty Do NOT sand over. When the seams are done apply lightly a coat of primer paint to seal and then you may undercoat and Gloss paint.

This is a butyl based Bedding Compound and IT NEVER EVER GOES HARD. Remaining soft and waterproof for all fittings. When the contractor came to fit my bow thruster on my wooden boat he wanted to use all epoxy.Well we had a little disagreement as I did not want epoxy on the hood ends of my 1 1/2 larch planking. I gave him Bedding compound and all hood ends where it was cut for the tunnel to be placed were bedded with this. He did use epoxy inside to stablise the tunnel across between the frames. At the end he was so impressed I got an order. Any excess when bedding can be cleaned with a rag and white spirit and you will not even notice the grey colour. After 48 hours it has skinned on the outside and can then be painted as well if required. Tubes are 310cc, fit a standard skeleton gun. It is the proper stuff for BEDDING.