// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the keelson say? I'm the backbone.
Look up keelson in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a vessel.[1] Originally used on wooden ships, in modern usage a keelson is any structural member used to strengthen the hull or to support any heavy weight.[2]
Wooden vessels may feature both main keelsons and sister keelsons.[3]
In part V of "Song of Myself", American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892) uses the phrase: "And that a kelson of the creation is love" to imply that love is akin to a keelson, or backbone, that supports humanity.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ↑ "keelson". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
- ↑ Cutler, Deborah W. and Thomas J. Cutler (2005). Dictionary of Naval Terms. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-59114-150-1.
- ↑ Curtis, W. H. (1918). "Keelsons". The Elements of Wood Ship Construction: Part I. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Education and Training Section, United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2026.