Building warships in dry docks and on slipways

How does building a ship in a dry dock differ from building it on a slipway?

Dry docks ease launching loads but impose harder dimensional and access limits; slipways offer more flexible side access and are usually easier to extend.

A dry-dock build avoids the structural strains of sliding a hull down a slipway and allows a gradual float-out, but the dock's length and width rigidly constrain the ship. Slipways are easier to extend and allow material to enter from the sides, while dry-dock modular construction depends more on overhead lifting, careful alignment, and controlled module weights.