wdyat12 - thank you for the brief description. It left me wanting more. I am very curious about the launching details. The wedges that you drove, was the purpose to lift the entire ship off the supporting structure so that an undercarriage could go in on which the ship would slide down the ways. Once that is done, what holds the ship in place? They must grease the ways at some point. When is that? What actually triggers the ship's movement? Any details like that would be welcomed.

I am surprised that sloped launches are being done at all in a modern shipyard. It is interesting that a modern warship containing such high technology would be built on such an old-fashioned way. I had assumed that shipbuilding on sloped ways was both more uncomfortable an innefficient for the work crews and more expensive for the contractor. When you have a chance, I would love to hear in as much detail as you can what the launch was like.

Sourdough