Use of Pine Sheathing on Dutch East India Company Ships

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East India Company outfitted all its ships with a protective layer of wooden sheathing -also known as sacrificial planking. This application was intended to shield the hulls from the ravages of marine borers such as teredo worms. Pine or fir sheathing planks were fastened to the exterior hull with iron sheathing, or filling, nails. Shipbuilders hammered them in close together so that, as they corroded, they formed an iron oxide buffer thought to be toxic to marine organisms. This method of sheathing was used in conjunction with wax, resinous paying materials (tar or pitch), and animal hair. Prior to the application of pine sheathing, a coating of wax and a resinous material was smeared onto the exterior of the ship’s hull below the waterline, as waterproofing and shipworm repellent, after which a layer of animal hair was added. The latter served as a bulking agent for the resinous paying material, a deterrent to wood rot, and it kept teredo worms from getting at the bottom planking.