Float-out

Float-out is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the keel laying and precedes the fitting-out 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 drydocks (building or graving docks) for constructing ships, most vessels were constructed on a slipway, 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 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 tugboats to a berth where the remaining construction continues. This usually includes further construction of the superstructure, attaching of masts and funnels, and the installation of equipment and furnishings.