I'm a bit surprised that this question wasn't answered very well. On "old" ships (1920s?) they were a common feature. Unfortunately they were pretty rubbish. All very well when a sea hit the bulwarks on the weather side as the sea would hold the washport closed. But then the ship would roll and the washports on the lee side would open, allowing the sea to come in over the deck on the "wrong" side. I suppose the idea was OK, but was probably dreamed up by a non-seaman.
I'm not going to draw it, but lets see if I can describe it.
Start off with a rectangular hole in the bulwark. Make a joggled plate so that the top third fits inside the bulwark and the bottom 2 thirds sit outside the bulwark. Fit a couple of simple peg hinges to the outside. The weight of the bottom 2 thirds will keep the "lids" shut. Hopefully. What happened in practice was that as the ship rolled (assuming that the hinges weren't rusted up) the lids kept opening and closing with a very annoying "clang"....and not all at the same time....or from the same side of the ship. It really would have been better if (as nowadays) "they" had just left the freeing ports open, and let the water find its own way out, rather than trying to stop the stuff coming in in the first place.
Most of the "elderly" ships I recall seeing during my formative days had had these things removed (probably to the great relief of the crew). I think the last ones I saw fitted with them were the 3 island "West Hartlepool Tramps" which were built until the early 1930s.
Horrible looking things .BY
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Topic: Hinged washport doors (Read 2569 times)