Puzzle Description:

the red is really varnished woodwork. the 'creature with two eyes' is a houseboat with mangroves in the background. and the 'window' is called a port light. don't ask.... I don't know why. the two toggles at the bottom lock it down.

#1: Norma Dee (norm0908) on Aug 15, 2013

Are you on a boat looking out?

yep!

Lovely!

I found plenty of sites that offer portlights for sale, but none explaining the name. Maybe because it provides light through the porthole?

One opinion:
A portlight is any shape other than a circle.

A port hole is round so the water can't hit you square in the face!

Also:
Porthole Definition from a Nautical Dictionary: An opening in the topsides or deck structures that allow light in, and which may be opened for fresh air. Portholes are usually small, with a sturdy hinged glass cover called a portlight, that can be dogged shut against a watertight gasket. (From the French "porte" meaning "door.")

LOL, Norma! thanks for the definition, and why it's port, even though they are on the port and starboard sides.

and thank you all for the comments.

maybe port comes from portal

Port and portal come from the same Latin root. "Light" is a synonym of "pane". So the four-pane sashes in my double-hung windows make eight-light windows. This is more common in old colonials where you even hear of twelve or sixteen-light windows.

Deck prisms are another interesting thing - they are solid hexagonal pyramids of glass that are set flush with the deck so that the point sticks into the space below. Sunlight hitting the top is then diffused to the lower deck.

It's surprisingly hard to find good pictures of these from Uncle Google. I could not find a picture from below of an installed one, but here's one from above: www.flickr.com/photos/finalgirl/211468633/

Here's one in a bronze holder showing its shape better: http://ancientpoint.com/inf/93578-nautical_antique_ships_deck_prism_mega_rare.html

They were made of all sorts of colors, probably mostly waste glass: http://culpeppernautical.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/ship_glass_deck_prisms.89121523_large.jpg

That's really interesting, Joe. Sometimes we are surprised at how clever our forefathers could be without the technology we have today. Hopefully they will be saying the same about us 100 years from now.

I thought it was a "TV" window!

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