port-holes

[Colin Pook]

similar to the flag thread, I was once asked, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE ROUND OPENING IN A SHIPS SIDE THAT IS USUALLY FOUND IN A CABIN?

Answer-- A PORT HOLE!

WRONG!!

IT'S A SCUTTLE! (another useless piece of information)

Colin

[E.Martin]

In my time a port hole is still a port hole,I think Americans called it a scuttle and maybe do the RN.
I have heard of a back scuttle but I do not know what that mean.

[John Albert Evans]

As many as others on here have done as well, when in the tropics I used to stick a piece of metal out of the port hole in order to get some cool air into my cabin. Thinking about it, it must have looked just like a coal scuttle from the outside.

John Albert Evans.

[Ivan Cloherty]

I think we had a big discussion on port/scuttles a couple of years back.

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, I thought it was called a side scuttle? hi Colin .You put out a piece of metal? as a wind catcher or Vent? the very first air condition system.

[Ivan Cloherty]

As many as others on here have done as well, when in the tropics I used to stick a piece of metal out of the port hole in order to get some cool air into my cabin. Thinking about it, it must have looked just like a coal scuttle from the outside.

John Albert Evans.

If I remember right John, Ship Chandlers also supplied them ready made to dimensions of the port, seem to remember them in PSNC and Ropners,

As an aside I was never told to go and brasso a scuttle, it was 'always make sure your ports are clean for inspection'

[robpage]

Scuttle may refer to:

Scuttling, the deliberate sinking of one's own ship
Coal scuttle, a bucket-like container for coal
Shaving scuttle, a teapot-like container for hot water
Scuttle, a fictional character in Disney's The Little Mermaid
Scuttle (software), web-based collaborative bookmarking software (GNU GPL)
Scuttle, a fight between rival territorial gangs in Manchester between the 1860s to the 1890s.
Scuttle, the bulkhead in a vehicle between the engine and the driver and passengers
Scuttle shake, a phenomenon experienced in some convertible cars
Scuttle, to scurry or to run hurriedly or furtively with short quick steps.

A porthole on a ship may also be called a sidescuttle or side scuttle (side hole), as officially termed in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. This term is used in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. It is also used in related rules and regulations for the construction of ships. The use of the word "sidescuttle" instead of "porthole" is meant to be broad, including any covered or uncovered hole in the side of the vessel.

So in my opinion it is more an American usage than a British one . We used to use a 5 gallon lube oil drum cut down to make what we referred to as wind scoops , but some older Clan Liners had Ship Builders issued ones that were a much sturdier model

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates. This reminds me of the old saying about holes and ports ? or something like that On sir R Ropners we had them and the wire ones to stop the moseys biteing you ,and rat guards on the hawsers' Hi rob Page I was never on any yankee clippers' , or Liberty ships, I remember elbow crease and brasso on the dogs a few times on sunday for Captains inspection on some ships.

[alf corbyn]

hi rob. on ucl and some other lines we used to call them wind scoops, made of galvanised iron. PS you forgot flying officer Fred Scuttle.

[Keith at Tregenna]

The name "porthole" has nothing to do with its location. The word originated during the reign of Henry VI of England (1485). It seems the good king insisted on mounting guns too large for his ships and therefore the conventional methods of securing the weapons on the forecastle and aftcastle could not be used.

A French shipbuilder named James Baker was commissioned to solve the problem. And solve it he did by piercing the ship's sides so the cannon could be mounted inside the fore and after castles. Covers, gun ports, were fitted for heavy weather and when the cannon were not in use.

The French word "porte" meaning door, was used to designate the revolutionary invention. "Porte" was Anglicized to "Port" and later corrupted to porthole. Eventually, it came to mean any opening in a ship's side whether for cannon or not.

LINK: Naval history of Great Britain by William James - Introduction page 2 - Portholes