Method of grounding of a sailing vessel to expose its hull
An Old Whaler Hove Down For Repairs, Near New Bedford, a wood engraving drawn by F. S. Cozzens and published in Harper's Weekly, December 1882
Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fastening copper sheets over the surface of the hull, fouling by this growth would seriously affect the sailing qualities of a ship, causing a large amount of drag.[1]: 164
^Smyth, W. H. (2005). The sailor's word-book : the classic source for over 14,000 nautical & naval terms, including some more especially military and scientific, but useful to seamen ; as well as archaisms of early voyages, etc. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-972-7.