I made a caulk puller out of a t-handle allen wrench. I heated it and bent it past 90 degrees, then ground it to a tapered point. Excellent for pulling out the old oakum and seam compound.

Rough sanding on the starboard side almost complete. It is being sanded with a belt sander, then an orbital sander with 60 grit paper. After recaulking, it will be sanded again with 120 paper then scaped. Final sanding will be with 240 grit before varnish.

Stbd side aft. Note the bronze rudder gudgeon which is in excellent shape, and note the horn timber is keyed into the keel, another example of the high quality of this boat!. Also, the caulk has been removed from most of the seams.

There have been sister frames added inside the hull. These were screwed in with bronze screws. The heads were filled with wood putty. I am removing these screws and re-drilling to make a better counterbore. Then I am installing proper teak plugs.

In process of removing screws and re plugging the holes. I removed alternating screws in alternating frames, therefore ensuring that no 2 screws and or frames were affected at the same time.

Same view after plugging and sanding the plugs.

After the rough sanding and cleaning the seams, oakum is driven in with a caulking iron. This serves 2 purposes: first it helps seal the seam, and also it is driven in with a hammer and it forces the planks tightly together. This way the entire hull becomes on structural unit and is therefore stronger.

Here is a better view of driving the oakum into a seam, not easy work.

Underwater seams partially done. This "tar" is called seam compound and is a newer version of the old pine tar used in the past. This keeps water out of the seams.