"Plugged her vents, patched her rents, dogged hatch and porthole down" - I've heard those lines sung so many different ways, most of which would probably ensure that the boat never made it to the surface.

While we're waiting in the hopes someone will come up with some more about the background - the name Mary Ellen Carter must come from somewhere, even if maybe it's the name of Stan Rogers' teacher in kindergarten or something like that - could Don or someone out there who knows about this kind of thing explain what we should be singing in that line, and what the terms mean?