Construction: the keel

The layout of the keel is the first stage of the construction of a ship.

The keel is a key structure, like the backbone of a human body, on which everything else depends. It is made in sections, laid on blocks on a sloping slipway.

Did you know?

The keel of Titanic was laid on 31st March 1909, 3 months after the keel of her sister ship, Olympic, was laid.

There are strong comparisons to be made between the systems of a human body and a ship.