1973.10.97 | Pitch ladle
1875, 19th century
New Brunswick Museum
This artefact belongs to: © New Brunswick Museum
Keys to History
To make the ship watertight, caulkers sealed, or caulked, the seams between the planks with hemp fibres called oakum. The oakum-packed seams were then covered with hot tar, or pitch. The pitch was poured into the deck seams with a ladle, while it was "rolled" onto the hull with mops, often spattering workers with sticky drops that burned their faces and hands.
This pitch ladle is made of iron.
Iron tools for shipbuilding might have been imported, but the local blacksmith often made them.
This pitch ladle was used in the New Brunswick shipbuilding industry in the late 1800s.
John Ring, the donor's grandfather, used this pitch ladle.