ABSTRACT
Until the water level falls below the keel the vessel’s weight is supported partly by the blocks and partly by the water. The upward reaction of the keel blocks may be considered as a negative weight in a moment calculation, producing a decrease in the ship’s stability, and it is most important that the vessel remains stable until she takes the blocks along the full length of her keel, i.e. when she is sewed, for until this moment the side shores cannot be successfully rigged. Once the vessel is laterally supported by shores, her stability condition is of no practical consequence.
