Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element that sometimes resembles a fin and protrudes below a boat along the central line, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event. Only the ship's launching is considered more significant in its creation.
The word can also be used as a synecdoche to refer to a complete boat, such as a keelboat.
Structural keels
A structural keel is a beam around which the hull of a ship is built. The keel runs in the middle of the ship, from the bow to the stern, and serves as a basic foundation or spine of the structure, providing the major source of structural strength of the hull. The keel is generally the first part of a ship's hull to be constructed, and laying the keel, or placing the keel in the cradle in which the ship will be built, is often a momentous event in a ship's construction — so much so that the event is often marked with a ceremony, and the term lay the keel has entered the language as a phrase meaning the beginning of any significant undertaking. Modern ships are now largely built in a series of pre-fabricated, complete hull sections rather than being built around a single keel, so the start of the shipbuilding process is now considered to be when the first sheet of steel is cut.
Latest News for: keel
Missing: Madison Keeling (IN)
The Indiana Times
02 Dec 2020
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The Courier - Waterloo
22 Nov 2020
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Nashville Tennessean 13 Nov 2020Cochin Shipyard launches five vessels, lays keel for two
The Hindu
12 Nov 2020
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