Side launching

Side launching slides a completed hull sideways off the building ways into the water, broadside instead of stern-first, used at yards on narrow rivers or restricted waterways where there is not enough length for an end launch. The hull tips off a set of transverse ways and drops into the water with a heavy roll, then rights itself; the dynamic motion and the roll are the design problem, since the hull must not roll far enough to flood or to strike the far bank. Launch weight, ways number and slope, and water depth are calculated to keep the roll within limits. It is dramatic and well suited to smaller vessels on confined sites.