tall ship sailor checking in to say that pine tar smells amazing. the rig shop (where we did most major maintenance esp during winter) always smells intensely of pine tar. It's like. . .a particularly smoky pine tree scent? Stains your hands and clothes, gets under your nails, a bit tacky. I've pulled old sweaters from storage and been immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia just bc of the lingering pine tar vibes. OTOH roofing tar smells like burned demon tires and will trash your lungs.
😄💖 Thank you! For sharing your excellent boat knowledge! Wow, I did figure it smelled better than petrochemical tars but amazing I did not expect somehow. 🌲 Mmm, smoky resin, lingering on a sweater, that’s very evocative. 👌 And tactile data! Nice.
It’s black, right? From the. Fire-based distillation process. I have this much correct? I found some pictures of rigging getting tarred. Brownish sort of black? Researching something that has been replaced in function by something that goes by the same name is stupidly challenging. Tarred canvas and tarpaper as they existed in the preindustrial era are like internet cryptids stg.
How light could you get an old-fashioned tarpaulin??? Nobody knows, they just want to try to buy Confederate Civil War knapsacks from one another.
According to that tragically inadequate research, pine tar is still used for repairs on certain antique shingled roofs. But for the rest. Only the foulest-smelling pitchy petrochemical soup. 😔 The modern age has many subtle flaws.
