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Yes, the keel is laid first. Keels form the spine of the ship, though on a flat bottom ship, it may not be readily apparent. If you ever look at the structure of an old wooden ship, such as a Viking longship or a Roman ship, these vessels' keel was a solid and defined length of wood that formed the profile of the ship beneath the waterline. The rest of the ship was then built out from the keel.

Daniel

Speaking of the double bottom, has anyone ever heard a story or rumor that someone was caught in the double bottom and sealed up in the ship?

I remember hearing this on the IMAX movie "Titanica", but have not heared this story any where else. It was probably just a rumor, because the reason they said why he was caught in it was because of the rapid pace of contruction.

Eww. I've not heard that before, but I can understand that being a rumor that may have surfaced after the sinking, along with the stories of pasengers and crew who had a sense of foreboding on the ship.

If it was true that is actualy pretty gruesome, can you imagine? I don't know how fast the bottom was built but surelythey wold have noticed?

That would be awful. Didn't the bottom floor of the ship be able to open up? I believe that's what the engineers were doing to rig the pumps. Mr. Shepard actually fell into a manhole that night. I don't know if what I'm talking about is the same thing....I also heard at one point the water was entering Boiler Room 5 by the floor. I think Barrett testified to that before the bulkhead collapsed that the water was entering through the floor panels.

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Exactly

Martyn