Not to hijack this thread ,
When new ships are launched, is there a rule for which end leads into the water. I realize that in a formal “christening,” the ship is launched stem-first, for esthetic reasons. But are there rules for non-christening launches?
Any direction you want. Sideways, forwards, backwards. Just watch out for the spray.
sailor
September 4, 2013, 8:59pm
3
panache45:
Not to hijack this thread ,
When new ships are launched, is there a rule for which end leads into the water. I realize that in a formal “christening,” the ship is launched stem-first, for esthetic reasons. But are there rules for non-christening launches?
Actually stern first (which is the opposite of stem first).
jasg
September 4, 2013, 11:04pm
4
As long as the keel is on the bottom…
Well, pointing to the bottom. ON the bottom would be a sign of a problem.
That happens sometimes: the keel scrapes the bottom…of the bay. Running aground upon launching is one of the more embarrassing jinxes that can befall a ship.
Fubaya
September 5, 2013, 2:10am
7
There’s an answer here on Yahoo answers (of all places) that sounds reasonable.
The traditional launch, stern first, is still the most common, even if there are other ways to launch a ship such as sideways or in the dry-dock.
In the traditional launch, the ship is launched stern first for several reasons. In general, the shape of the stern is rounder than the streamlined bow profile, thus providing greater resistance when entering the water. Moreover, the stern provides more buoyancy to lift the ship from the cradle faster than the bow, thus favoring the gradual detachment from the slipway.
Finally, the greater beam astern helps to stabilize the ship crosswise as she enters the water and to avoid dangerous listings.
None of those are launched bow first, just stern and side launches.