Britton: Treatise on the Origin, Progress, Prevention and Cure of Dry Rot in Timber, 1875

p 26:
One cause of the decay of wood in ships is the use of wooden treenails … As the treenails are also made to drive [relatively] easy, they never fill the holes they are driven into; consequently, if ever it admits water at the outer end, which, from shrinking, it is liable to do, that water immediately gets into the middle of the plank, and thereby forms a natural vehicle for the conveyance of water. The treenail is also the second thing which decays a ship, the first, generally, being the oakum. Should any part of the plank or timber of a ship be in an incipient state of decay, and a treenail come in contact with it, the decay immediately increases …

Thomas A. Britton: Treatise on the Origin, Progress, Prevention and Cure of Dry Rot in Timber.
London, 1875.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius

Sjöhistoriska Samfundet | The Maritime History Virtual Archives | Shipbuilding | Fastenings.