Why didn’t the wood rot or eventually absorb water and allow water to enter the boat?
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The wood did rot and the hull on most ships typically almost always leaked water inside to some degree. There were several water proofing methods meant to prevent this as much as possible, most relying on the repeated and consistent application of various materials to the exterior of the hull, and also bilge pumps, pumps meant to remove water from inside a ship, have existed since antiquity, since it was basically expected that any ship would let in some amount of water. As others have pointed out since the wood inevitably soaked in some water this made it expand which helped seal gaps, although the movement and flexing of the ship often opened and closed gaps constantly.
Ships required constant upkeep and maintenance and repairs. Often large parts of the hull or other parts of the ship would be completely replaced up until the point where it was no longer profitable to do so. It’s also the reason why very few examples of ancient wooden ships exist since most of them were either scrapped for their wood or simply rotted away into nothing.
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