Welcome to the "Scuttlebutt" forum

8109 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Kayaking, Feb 10, 2014

NCangler

Discussion Starter · Jan 5, 2007

Thanks to NCangler.com member Crummy for the suggestion to create a forum for members to discuss any topics of interest outside the realm of fishing. Just a reminder to keep discussions in the positive tone of our "family-friendly" policies.

Topics are subject to approval by management.

A thank you too to NCangler.com Moderator Topsail Angler for the suggestion of "the Scuttlebutt" as the title of this forum. Here is an interesting bit of information regarding the term:

The term scuttlebutt originally refered to cask on a ship that held the days drinking water (the equivalent of today's water cooler). Sailors would stand around the cask (like most any work place) and converse with co-workers - thus gossip or news on the QT is refered to in the Navy as "scuttlebutt". - Topsail Angler

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Scuttle \Scut"tle\ (sk[u^]t"t'l), n. [OF. escoutille, F.
['e]scoutille, cf. Sp. escotilla; probably akin to Sp.
escotar to cut a thing so as to make it fit, to hollow a
garment about the neck, perhaps originally, to cut a
bosom-shaped piece out, and of Teutonic origin; cf. D. schoot
lap, bosom, G. schoss, Goth. skauts the hem of a garnment.
Cf. Sheet an expanse.]
1. A small opening in an outside wall or covering, furnished
with a lid. Specifically:
(a) (Naut.) A small opening or hatchway in the deck of a
ship, large enough to admit a man, and with a lid for
covering it, also, a like hole in the side or bottom
of a ship.
(b) An opening in the roof of a house, with a lid.
[1913 Webster]

2. The lid or door which covers or closes an opening in a
roof, wall, or the like.
[1913 Webster]

Scuttle butt, or Scuttle cask (Naut.), a butt or cask
with a large hole in it, used to contain the fresh water
for daily use in a ship. --Totten.
[1913 Webster]

Learn something everyday on this site!

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Crummy

· #2 · Jan 5, 2007

NCangler said:
Learn something everyday on this site!

That was my hope for the suggestion. Fishermen tell the best stories too.

Great title.

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Topsail Angler

· #3 · Jan 5, 2007

Here's dictionary.com's version:

scuttlebutt \SKUHT-l-buht\, noun:
1. A drinking fountain on a ship.
2. A cask on a ship that contains the day's supply of drinking water.
3. Gossip; rumor.

Scuttlebutt comes from scuttle, "a small opening" + butt, "a large cask" -- that is, a small hole cut into a cask or barrel to allow individual cups of water to be drawn out. The modern equivalent is the office water cooler, also a source of refreshment and gossip.

On a related note - The term scuttle used as a verb means to intentionally sink a ship, usually from within the ship and is derived from using a scuttle valve to accomplish that task. Most of the older ships (and some modern ones) have a sea cock or scuttle valve in the hull. Its main purpose was to let in water for emergency ballast, overhauls, etc. However it was occasionally used to sink the ship to keep the enemy from gaining use of it when capture was imminent.

One of my favorite scuba diving spots in Guam was the Cormoron, a German navy light cruiser. It like all ships of its day ran on coal and could not go very long without a re-supply. The rules of naval warfare during WWI required a belligerent navy vessel (a ship from a country at war) when visiting a port of a neutral country to leave within 48 hours of arrival or it would have to remain there for the remainder of the conflict. Low on supplies including coal for fuel, the Cormoron weighed anchor in Apra Harbor, Guam hoping to buy coal and continue on its way.

Guam belonged to the US and in 1916 when the Cormoron arrived in Guam the US was still technically neutral, having not declared war yet. The US refused to sell coal to Germany in large enough quantities for the Cormoron to reach the next port of call, so she was forced to stay in Guam and thus was removed from the war.

Guam was governed by a US Naval officer at that time. On the day the US declared war on Germany, upon receiving a telex from Hawaii, the US Navy Commander and a small crew boarded a skiff and headed out into the harbor to accept the surrender of the German crew. The German Captain had also received word of this development and upon seeing the skiff headed his way, hastily ordered everyone to abandon ship and ordered the scuttle be opened. Thus the Cormoron sunk before the US could capture her, re-outfit her and use her against the Germans. Unfortunately, 5 German crew members died during her sinking and are buried on Guam.

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Jeffonc

· #4 · Feb 4, 2009

Posting Guidelines

NCangler said:
Thanks to NCangler.com member Crummy for the suggestion to create a forum for members to discuss any topics of interest outside the realm of fishing. Just a reminder to keep discussions in the positive tone of our "family-friendly" policies.

Just a gentle reminder that the Posting Guidelines are still in effect, even in the Scuttlebutt forum. We encourage every member (and even the non-members lurking in the background) to review those.

From time to time we do delete posts and as much as we'd like to be thorough, sometimes we don't have time to send an explanation to the poster (or each other, for that matter) and don't remember to do it later.

There's never a problem with asking one of the moderators why a post disappeared. Sometimes its us, sometimes its YOU

(or your browser, or the network or some other unexplained hiccup along the line).

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Bigheelfan

· #5 · Sep 28, 2012

I am trying to get rid of my newbie tag so that I can get some advice about mooring in a tidal creek. Thx.

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NCangler

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 28, 2012

As noted in your welcome email and in the note you saw when you posted this entry, new members are placed into the "Newbie" user group until they have made five posts that have been reviewed by our moderators. While in the Newbie group your posts are automatically moderated until one of us can review it. We do this to fight SPAM registrations. The best way to move out of the Newbie user group is to post in the forums.

Bigheelfan said:
I am trying to get rid of my newbie tag so that I can get some advice about mooring in a tidal creek. Thx.

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Kayaking

· #7 · Feb 10, 2014

You know, I would think an online forum would care a little more about the NSA and freedome of speech. I read your rules and i know my rights stop where yours start. So this clearly shows that you dont care about your rights. If you ignore your rights they will disappear! Never in my life have i felt so surrounded by sheeple bowing to the steeple.

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NCangler

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 10, 2014

How difficult is it for some folks to understand that we want to keep this FISHING Forum focused on fishing? There are thousands of websites where politics can be discussed where people go to specifically looking to discuss politics. I care very deeply about freedom of speech and my rights and I follow/discuss those issues on other sites, not this one.

Kayaking said:
You know, I would think an online forum would care a little more about the NSA and freedome of speech. I read your rules and i know my rights stop where yours start. So this clearly shows that you dont care about your rights. If you ignore your rights they will disappear! Never in my life have i felt so surrounded by sheeple bowing to the steeple.

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sundrop

· #9 · Feb 10, 2014

This site challenges no ones rights. But RULES are rules and on this site, you don't talk about things that aren't fishing/outdoor related. We wander off course a bit, but when its strayed enough we are asked to get back to the core of the site, which is fishing. You don't talk sewing, on a welding forum. No denying anyone their rights, just rules.. I can promise you I am FAR from "Sheeple" and will not tolerate my rights being muffled nor yours nor anyone else's, even if I disagree! As far as your "steeple" comment, to each their own. Yet again, one's rights, agree or disagree...

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Kayaking

· #10 · Feb 10, 2014

NCangler said:
How difficult is it for some folks to understand that we want to keep this FISHING Forum focused on fishing? There are thousands of websites where politics can be discussed where people go to specifically looking to discuss politics. I care very deeply about freedom of speech and my rights and I follow/discuss those issues on other sites, not this one.

Which is why I posted it in the scuttlebutt. It's not even politics. Out of the thousands of other forums I chose this one because I care about each and every one of the members in here, even if we don't see eye to eye. People need to start waking up to the truth, this is much bigger than us. And I'll leave it at that knowing that my topics are clearly not welcome here.

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