After shipwrights drive oakum or cotton into the seams of a wooden deck or hull, they pay the seam by pouring hot pitch, tar, or marine sealants over the caulking. This final step waterproofs the joint, protecting the caulking material from rot and preventing water from breaching the hull.
Heard on the job
Once the caulkers finish driving the oakum on the starboard side, get the pitch pot boiling so we can pay the seams.
Insider tip
The phrase "the devil to pay" originally referred to the difficult job of paying the "devil seam," the lowest and hardest-to-reach seam on a ship's hull.