The picture is of the 2 engine room zones. You can see the stabilizers - highlighted in red circle. The interior of this section is complete with all of the engines, machinery and piping installed.

In the Cunard web site's QM2 section, click on "Did You Know...", there are photos of one of the newbuild's hull modules actually afloat in one of Alstom's building docks!
For logistical reasons it had to be floated between August 8 to 11, 2002 to make way for other projects.

[ 09-07-2002: Message edited by: Frank X. Prudent ]

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Originally posted by Frank X. Prudent:
In the Cunard web site's QM2 section, click on "Did You Know...", there are photos of one of the newbuild's hull modules actually afloat in one of Alstom's building docks!

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With modern hull design, advances in steel and other materials, etc., is the QM2 designed to be as strong, and as able as the QE2?

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Originally posted by Darrell:
With modern hull design, advances in steel and other materials, etc., is the QM2 designed to be as strong, and as able as the QE2?

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Originally posted by Darrell:
That IS the HULL of what Cunard is calling a true LINER???
It is as flat bottom as any other modern ship, or is this because it is a aft section where the ship does "flatten out" some?

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It is a flat bottom...

Look on the QE2 - flat bottom. Norway - flat bottom. And so on. All ocean liners and cruise ships have flat bottoms.

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Originally posted by gohaze:
Malcolm...I sailed on the first ship built with an all-aluminum superstructure and I can assure you it most certainly was not FRAGILE, anymore than that on the QE2.
You'll probably find that the use of steel on the QM2 has more to do with fire integrity requirements. Ask Gerry.
....peter

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Originally posted by Onno:

Perhaps your looking for this picture Pam?Cunard

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Thanks Onno. The problem was that the Cunard was so sloow yesterday am it was I assume timing out before loading the rest of the 'Did you know' page and I was only getting the first 2 items in the list. Using your page and going back the same was happening, with no link back to it, but later on it all started speeding up and coming through..fine now.

In the event I had visited the page previously anyway

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Originally posted by Cruiseny:

It is a flat bottom...

Look on the QE2 - flat bottom. Norway - flat bottom. And so on. All ocean liners and cruise ships have flat bottoms.

They don't look flat at the front, but cut off the bow, and all of them are flat on the bottom like this.

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Originally posted by Gerry:
QE2 has aluminium upperworks which are not as strong as steel. Flexing of the ship does cause superficial cracks that are repaired. They do not affect the overall integrity of the ship. The use of aluminium meant that the ship was lighter up top, so could be built narrower below and could fit through Panama.
Nowadays, to achieve the same fire protection as steel, Aluminium must be insulated so the weight advantage is less than before. The decision was made to use steel throughout for QM2. The hull thickness for QE2 and QM2 is similar.However, welding techniques are vastly superior these days (ask any old welder that has seen both types of welded seam - manual and machine) QM2 will be stronger than QE2.
The discussion about expansion joints on another thread illustrated how things have moved on. Today, finite element analyses predict areas of stress at the design stage and the structure is redesigned so the singlepoint stresses are either avoided or are strengthened to cope. Flexibility is designed in. Years ago there was no way to do this and hulls were far stiffer and less flexible so expansion joints were needed to stop the structure cracking.(a case of belt and braces)

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Very interesting! Thanks so much for the explanations.