The last time I was in the boat shop at the Center, a group of people came in to look around. A man came up to me--keep in mind I was just past orientation--and asked if we had any caulking mallets. I knew that this kind of tool has been used since the days of tall ships to seal between planks using cotton and oakum (hemp soaked in pine tar). The question struck me as odd, because our little shop wasn't normally in the business of repairing tall ships. "I make them," the man said. "I donate some to the Center's annual auction, and I was wondering if there were still some around." I did find a drawer with caulking mallets in it, but upon inspection none turned out to be made by him.
I then learned that he and his group were on "vacation" from the San Diego Maritime Museum.
