Origin of 'Run like smoke and oakum'?

[Johnny_L.A]

Master And Commander is playing while I work, and ‘Run like smoke and oakum’ is a well-known line from it.

What is the origin of the phrase?

[XT]

@Johnny_L.A

Master And Commander is playing while I work, and ‘Run like smoke and oakum’ is a well-known line from it.

What is the origin of the phrase?

I think it stems from the use of oakum used in slow match for firing cannon or musket. So, assuming I’m remembering correctly, you have your slow match of oakum with it’s smoke and it’s used to fire the cannon. Smoke and oakum.

(I’m probably totally wrong about this, however, as I’m sure there will be several 'dopers pointing out after this post :p)

[XT]

Yeah, I was wrong. It was used as packing material, among other things…but I don’t see any relation to slow match or fuse.

Oakum is a tarred fiber that has a long and distinguished history for use in shipbuilding and the repair of various sea-going vessels. Essentially, it is a blend of fibers that are coated with tar and can be used to fill in small cracks in various types of structures. In centuries past, tarred oakum was often prepared by persons serving time in prisons, as well as people who were forced to labor in workhouses in order to work off outstanding debts.

There is more than one form of oakum available for use. In addition to the tarred version that is made by using the jute or hemp fibers of old ropes, there is also white oakum. This is created with the use of hemp fibers that have not been woven into ropes and is not impregnated with the pine tar that was used in many instances to make the fibers resistant to water and the elements.

In usage, oakum was extremely helpful around the shipyard. The substance served as an ideal packing material that could be used as a means of caulking or sealing the small spaces between the joints of ships made completely of wood. As ships that were primarily constructed of metal became more common, oakum was still used as a means to provide caulking and stability to the wooden deck planking that often was used to outfit the metal body of the ship.

So, my WAG on the smoke and oakum thing is that it is used all around the ship and it seems pretty flammable especially when used with tar…so, perhaps O’Brian or whoever he was quoting was talking about the possibility of ship board fire running rampant.