water exhaust on the side of the ships ?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Cohaagen

"Water exhaust"!

That's a bilge outlet. "Bilge" is waste water that collects in a special compartment low down in the ship and is pumped out. Anything bigger than a punt has one. Bilgewater is really nasty stuff. My old boy has some interesting stories about bilge-cleaning and valve changing from when he was a deck officer cadet in the Merchant Navy.

Too right there....when a vessel came into a shipyard for repairs, one of the worst jobs (usually reserved for apprentices) was to get into what was termed the 'double bottoms' below the floor plates and into the bilges to get at the sea valves.