Launch (gravity, side, float)

Launch is the operation that transfers a completed hull from the building position into the water, by three main methods. A gravity (end) launch slides the hull stern-first down inclined ways under its own weight, controlled by drag chains and the buoyancy transition as the stern lifts. A side launch slides the hull sideways off the ways into a narrow waterway, used where length along the bank is short. A float-out (the building-dock method) floods the dock and lifts the hull off its blocks with no slide at all. Method choice follows the building facility: ways for berths, flooding for building docks, and side launching for restricted river yards.