one gary owers
Winger
Dear manI think not, dear boy. There are others on here who will possess expertise in the subject. I am not one of them. But, as I understand it, in riveted steel or iron ship construction, caulking was a process of rendering seams watertight by driving a thick, blunt chisel-like tool into the plating adjacent to the seam. This had the effect of displacing the metal into a close fit with the adjoining piece. So, no flammable corking material to catch aleet. Unlike the owld wooden sailing ships where oakum was used. Now that would have been flammable. There again, I don't think there'd have been any welding or steel riveting required....
Making the seams between the shell or deck planks of a ship watertight. Caulking is a technique whereby the gaps between the shell strakes or deck planks are sealed using fibres, cord and pitch.