Features of the Dock

Features of the Dock. . Select, turn, listen..., Find out more about how Hamilton Graving , Dock worked. Select a channel and turn the , handle a few times to play each audio track. , 1 Keel blocks , 2 Caisson , 3 Diver, Time spent by ships in the dock , was measured in tides rather than in days., Typically, ships would spend a maximum of two weeks in the dock, being cleaned, re-painted, fitted with propellers or anchors, or repaired. Rental rates were high and ship-builders preferred to use the dry dock only when it was absolutely necessary., [Photo caption reads] , Left Hamilton Dock, c.1902 , [Yellow inset captions, left to right, read] , . Metal plates on either side of the dock's entrance cover screw mechanisms which were used to open and close the sluice gates of the dock's inlet and outlet culverts., . Basalt tool chutes installed on the edge of the dock provided a quick and safe way to transfer tools from the dockside to the dock floor., DEPTH INDICATORS , Arabic and Roman numerals are carved into the wall by the caisson to indicate the depth of the water. Can you spot something unusual about these numbers? , [Diagram showing numerals and mock water level], [Multiple photo panel yellow inset captions, clockwise from top left, read] , . Bollards spaced along the dockside allowed ships to be moored securely by attaching ropes to them., . Capstans were used to control the movements of a ship being floated into the dock. By turning levers [cut?] into the capstan's drum, ropes wound around it could be tightened or released., . The stepped sides, known as altar courses, were designed to support the wooden props, or shears, that held the ship in place. Alexandra Graving Dock, . Divers had an important role to play in the operation of the dock. Alexandra Graving Dock, c.1900, . Keel blocks are the large blocks on which ships rested while in the dock. Hamilton Dock in 1872.