Daily Curiosities: Ships are Launched
POSTED by: on 09/29/2009
Ever wonder how the people who build huge oil tankers and ocean liners get their creations into the water?
They launch them!
There are three different ways to “launch” a ship. The most known one is the stern first launch. In a stern first launch the ship is built on a slipway (a long ramp that leads to the water and some of the way into it). When the hull is completed, the ship is released and slides down the slipway and into the water. Drag chains are used to slow it down and prevent it from moving too far away from the dock. It is then tied up at the dock and the super structure is completed.
Another form of ship launch is the side launch. This is often used in cases where there is not sufficient room for a stern first launch, such as in a river or other narrow body of water. In this case, the ship is built next to the water, facing parallel to the shore. When it is ready to be launched, it slides sideways over the edge of the shore and into the water. This method also helps reduce the stresses in the keel that are caused by a stern first launch.
The final form of ship launch is not actually a real launch. Instead, the ship is built in dry dock and when it is completed, the dry dock is flooded and the ship floated out.
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