Float-out is the process in

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

that follows the keel laying and precedes the

fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

process. It is analogous to launching a ship, a specific process that has largely been discontinued in modern shipbuilding. Both floating-out and launching are the times when the ship leaves dry land and becomes waterborne for the first time, and often take place during ceremonies celebrating and commemorating that event.

Launching

Prior to the large-scale use of

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s (building or graving docks) for constructing ships, most vessels were constructed on a

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

, i.e. an inclined building platform sloping toward a body of water into which the ship would be launched.

Contemporary shipbuilding

The launching of ships has been largely replaced by the "floating" process. After a ship is ordered for construction, its keel is laid in a drydock. Construction of the ship continues in the dock, usually in the form of prefabricated units that are assembled. After the empty hull has been substantially completed, sluice gates are opened and the drydock fills with water. The dock gates are then opened and the ship is pulled out by

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

to a berth where the remaining construction continues namely

fitting out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

. This usually includes further construction of the superstructure, attaching of masts and funnels, and the installation of equipment and furnishings. The completed ship will usually return to drydock for installation of other equipment, propulsion parts, and the painting of its hull. The first superliner to be constructed in this manner was , but the history of "floating" ships rather than "launching" goes back more than one hundred years before that vessel's construction. designed by

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

was constructed in drydock and floated on 19 July 1843. She is currently in Bristol, England, United Kingdom.

Naming ceremony

Ships which are launched typically are christened and formally named at their launching ceremonies, even though they are not completed until later. Some recent passenger vessels which were constructed in drydocks were not formally christened when floated out. The naming ceremonies of and took place after completion and delivery to their owners, in the case of ''Freedom of the Seas'' after her first

transatlantic crossing Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...

External links

‘’Birth of a Ship’’ (the construction process of container ship MV ''Maunawili'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Float-Out Shipbuilding Naval architecture