I will speak from what experience I have concerning "caulking" or "corken," depending on which marine repair facility you are in and to whom you are speaking.
I have restored wooden boats, and have done more caulking than I want anyone to know about! But the material I used was a rope type product that was more like stringy cotten than actual rope. I would put it between the planking using a small spackling knife and trim hammer. When the boat was put "overboard" into the water, it would sink up to the rails (as long as the weight inside wasn't too much), and the "caulking" would swell. We then would pump the water out of the hull and "she'll rise like a bobber" and truly, the boat would sit high and dry in the interior hull until something else caused a leak.
I always loved it here in the Chesapeake Bay region where a boat style lovingly known as a "dead rise" were "thrown overboard" to swell every spring after being caulked. These "good ole boyz" would laugh and tell you they were trying to "get my deadrise to swell." You didn't know if they were talking about their boat or a physical problem like ED!
But the caulking is amazing, and since I am restoring a 300 year old house, I am now definitely considering my favorite type of marine caulking for the open wood floors.
Thanks all,
George
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George Jennings AIA
G Booker 3
Tappahannock VA
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