The SS Great eastern was the first double hulled ship ever built and the largest ship in the world during its entire life span. During its construction, the ship could be seen across the entire peninsula of the Isle of Dog. Such a noticeable object drew a crowd of over 3000 people on the day of its first floating attempt, despite the efforts of it's chief engineer to downplay the event. A ship of its size had never been launched before, so merely getting it into the water presented an engineering challenge in and of itself. It took many attempts and nearly three months to finally get the ship into the water.

Sources:

“Site of the Launch Ways of the SS Great Eastern, Non Civil Parish - 1423608: Historic England.” Site of the Launch Ways of the SS Great Eastern, Historic England, historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1423608.