Building a Resin Kit

I have purchsed my first resin kit an will attempt to build it in a few months for the Pearl Harbor build. My question is how does one handle the construction and handling of the kit while inder construction. The hull of the kit (Commander Series four stack destroyer, which I intend to build as the USS Ward) is a one piece resin casting that has a strip/block of resin down the length of the keel. Do I remove it first and go from there - will the hull sit flat so I can work on the upper works of the kit - or do I use it as a base/handle as I build the rest of the model? Should I build some kind of cradle or base to rest it in during the construction? Thanks in advance for any assistance.