![Maagen and Skagerak beached at Nørre Vorupør 2012-11-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Maagen_and_Skagerak_beached_at_N%C3%B8rre_Vorup%C3%B8r_2012-11-18.jpg)
Beaching (or Landing) is the process in which a ship or boat is laid ashore, or
grounded deliberately in shallow water. This is more usual with small
flat-bottomed boat
A flat-bottomed boat is a boat with a shallow draft, two-chined hull, which allows it to be used in shallow bodies of water, such as rivers, because it is less likely to ground.
The flat hull also makes the boat more stable in calm water, whic ...
s. Larger ships may be beached deliberately; for instance, in an emergency, a damaged ship might be beached to prevent it from sinking in deep water. Some vessels are designed to be loaded and unloaded by beaching; vessels of this type used by the military to disembark troops under fire are called
landing craft.
During the
age of sail, vessels were sometimes beached to allow them to be rolled over for the hull to be maintained, a process called ''
careening
Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...
''.
Ships scheduled for
break-up
A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...
are sometimes intentionally beached to make the procedure easier.
See also
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Landing craft
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Shipwrecking
Shipwrecking is an event that causes a shipwreck, such as a ship striking something that causes the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance; or the destruction of a ship either intentionally or by violent ...
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Cetacean stranding
References
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Nautical terminology
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