A slipway inside the Cobb at Lyme Regis, England

A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, 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. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The nautical term ways is an alternative name for slipway. A ship undergoing construction in a shipyard is said to be on the ways. If a ship were scrapped there, she is said to be broken up in the ways. Image File history File links Lyme_slip. ... Image File history File links Lyme_slip. ... , Lyme Regis (IPA: ) is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles east of Exeter. ... The inclined plane is one of the classical simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. ... For online phenomenon of shipping, see Shipping (fandom). ... A boat, like a ship, is a buoyant vessel designed for the purpose of transporting people and possibly goods across water. ... Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ... Traditional boat building in South East Maluku, Indonesia. ... Utility trailer A Trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87s, with fixed conventional landing gear. ...

As the word "slip" implies, in theory the ships or boats are moved over the ramp, standing on a sledge, with help of grease. Slipways are used to launch (newly built) large ships, but can only dry-dock or repair smaller ships. Pulling large ships against the greased ramp would require too much force. For dry-docking large ships, one must use carriages supported by wheels or by roller-pallets. These types of dry-docking installations are called "marine railways". Nevertheless the words "slip" and "slipway" are also used for all dry-docking installations that use a ramp. Grease is a lubricant of higher initial viscosity than oil, consisting originally of a calcium, sodium or lithium soap jelly emulsified with mineral oil. ... Patent Slipway at Arbroath Harbour Steps involved in slipping a vessel The Patent slip was invented by Scotsman Thomas Morton in 1818 as a cheaper alternative to a dry dock for ship repair. ...

Simple slipways

In its simplest form, a slipway is a plain ramp, typically made of concrete, steel, stone or even wood. The height of the tide can limit the usability of a slip: unless the ramp continues well below the low water level it may not be usable at low tide. Normally there is a flat paved area on the landward end. This article is about the construction material. ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... Rock redirects here. ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... This article is about tides in the Earths oceans. ...

When used for building and repairing boats or small ships (i.e. ships of no more than about 300 tons), the vessel is moved on a wheeled carriage, which is run down the ramp until the vessel can float on or off the carriage. Such slipways are used for repair as well as for putting newly built vessels in the water.

When used for launching and retrieving small boats, the trailer is placed in the water. The boat may be either floated on and off the trailer or pulled off. When recovering the boat from the water, it is winched back up the trailer. Modern self-tailing winch on a sailing boat. ...

Lifeboat slipways

Swanage lifeboat being winched back up its slipway after a launch.

To achieve a safe launch of some types of land-based lifeboats in bad weather and difficult sea conditions, the lifeboat and slipway are designed so that the lifeboat slides down a relatively steep steel slip under gravity. It is winched back up afterwards. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (820x615, 88 KB) Swanage lifeboat being winched up its slipway after a shout File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (820x615, 88 KB) Swanage lifeboat being winched up its slipway after a shout File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... , Swanage a small town in the south east of Dorset, England. ... For the 1944 movie, see Lifeboat (film). ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ...

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the United Kingdom currently operates 3 different classes of lifeboat from its slipways. The Tyne, Mersey and most recently the Tamar. Swanage lifeboat being winched up its slipway The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity based in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland dedicated to saving lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Tyne class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK as a part of the RNLI fleet. ... Mersey class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK as a part of the RNLI fleet. ... Tamar class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK as a part of the RNLI fleet. ...

Ship construction

For large ships, slipways are only used in construction of the vessel. Normally they are arranged perpendicular to the shore line (or as nearly so as the water and maximum length of vessel allows) and the ship is built with its stern facing the water. The slipway then takes the form of a plateway with the two plates nearly horizontal. They are actually arranged in the form of a very flat 'V' to give stability to the vessel being worked upon. The plateways extend to well below the water level taking into account tidal variations. The vessel is built upon a wooden frame that is constructed as the ship extends up from the keel. Aft of the Soleil Royal, by Jean Bérain the Elder. ... This article is about tides in the ocean. ... For other uses, see Keel (disambiguation). ...

2 slipways at Portland Harbour - one holding a landing craft and the other a barge

The process of transferring the vessel to the water is known as launching and is normally a ceremonial and celebratory occasion. It is the point where the vessel is formally named. At this point the hull is complete and the propellors and associated shafting are in place, but typically the engines have not been fitted and the superstructure has not been built. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (820x615, 130 KB) Two slipways at Portland Harbour. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (820x615, 130 KB) Two slipways at Portland Harbour. ... Two RIBs at Castletown, Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. ... Landing craft Rapière LCU 1656 departs USS Bataan (LHD-5) well deck during Hurricane Katrina relief operations. ... Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... A propeller can be seen as a rotating fin in water or a wing in air. ... For other uses, see Engine (disambiguation). ... // Sociological concept In social sciences, superstructure is the set of socio-psychological feedback loops that maintain a coherent and meaningful structure in a given society, or part thereof. ...

On launching, the vessel slides backwards down the slipway on the frame until it floats by itself.

Some slipways are built so that the vessel is side on to the water and is launched sideways. This is done where the limitations of the water channel would not allow lengthwise launching, but occupies a much greater length of shore. The Great Eastern built by Brunel was built this way as were many Landing Craft during World War II. This method requires many more plate runs to support the weight of the ship. The SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steam ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... Landing craft Rapière LCU 1656 departs USS Bataan (LHD-5) well deck during Hurricane Katrina relief operations. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

In both cases heavy chains are attached to the ship and the drag effect is used to slow the vessel once afloat until tugboats can move the hull to a jetty for fitting out. Look up chain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A tugboat shown turning a large RORO cargo ship. ... A hull is the body or frame of a ship or boat. ... Alternate meanings: See Jetty (web server) Alternate meanings: See Jettying in buildings The term jetty, derived from the French jetie, and therefor signifying something thrown out, is applied to a variety of structures employed in river, dock and maritime works which are generally carried out in pairs from river banks...

The practice of building on a slipway is dying out with the very large vessels introduced from about 1970. Part of the reason is the space requirement for slowing and maneuvering the vessel immediately after it has left the slipway, but the sheer size of the vessel causes design problems, since the hull is basically supported only at its end points during the launch process and this imposes stresses not met during normal operation.

Different means for dry-docking and launching of ships

• Mobile boat lift, (also called a Travelift), for vessels up to 1000 metric tons)[1]
• Marine railway, with a capacity up to 2,000 tons
• Floating dry dock, with a maximum capacity up to 5,000 tons weight
• Graving dry dock, with unlimited size of ships.
• Shiplift, the most modern way of dry-docking and launching, for ships weighing 800-25,000 tons.

Patent Slipway at Arbroath Harbour Steps involved in slipping a vessel The Patent slip was invented by Scotsman Thomas Morton in 1818 as a cheaper alternative to a dry dock for ship repair. ... U.S. Navy submarine USS Greeneville in dry dock following collision with a fishing boat. ... U.S. Navy submarine USS Greeneville in dry dock following collision with a fishing boat. ... sumarine on a shiplift at Kockums A shiplift is a modern alternative for a slipway, a floating dock or a graving dock. ...

See also

• Ferry slip
• Harbour
• Port

A ferry slip is a specialized docking facility that receives a ferryboat. ... A harbor (or harbour) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ... For other uses, see Port (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Marina Search - Find Marinas, Boat Slips and Marine Products & Services.
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Swanage Lifeboat
• boatlaunch - slipway listings