Why a great hall can resemble an inverted hull

Was there a crossover between wooden shipbuilding and the construction of large halls?

Yes. Large timber buildings could use an inverted-hull logic, with structural ribs arranged much like those in a ship.

The Great Hall at Chatham Dockyard resembles the inverted ribs of a hull when seen from inside. Builders could apply proven shipbuilding geometry to large structures on land because the same arrangement produced a strong framework. Surviving dockyard architecture therefore preserves shipwrights' structural knowledge alongside historic vessels.