I need to know what it means by "Batten down the hateches"

[Suryanarayanan]

 Dear Sir,

  I came across the following expression "batten down the hateches"  what is the meaning?

[sanjeevi]

  No...It is batten down  "hatches" and not hateches. A hatch is the  an opening, as in the deck of a ship, in the roof or floor of a building and batten is a strip of wood. During bad weather they cover the hatch of the ship with a protective sheet or caulk the leak down the batten. It is a nautical expression.