Dry Docking a Warship.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 44, 8 June 1917, Page 2

Dry Docking a Warship.

One of the operations a naval officer dislikes more than anything else is docking a big warship to undergo repairs. It is one of the most difficult tasks imaginable, and the slightest carelessness may mean damage done to the extent of some thousands of pounds. Before being floated into the dock the vessel is usually lightened of everything that can bo easily taken from her, and then she is towed in by tugs. The greatest care has to be taken to get the huge mass to float in exactly its proper position so that, when the water is pumped out of the dock, it will come to rest upon the keel blocks in such a way that its great weight is evenly distributed. These big repairing docks, or graving docks, as they are usually called, are built in a series of steps so that they are much narrower at the bottom than at the top. These steps give support to the balks of timber which keep the vessel upright. A float, called a “marker,” is used to show that the battleship is in its right position before the water is drained away. Any miscalculation and the vessel might ijeel over, and there is no stopping a 25,000-ton ship when it begins doing that.