I Wouldn't Buy One

In 1848, a gentleman by the name of Joseph Louis Lambot built what is believed to be the first boat made of concrete. No doubt his neighbors tried to convince him that concrete wasn't the best material to use to build boats with because everyone knows that concrete sinks. There isn't any information to prove that Joseph's boat did or didn't sink. But if it did, it wouldn't have been because of his choice of building material. Why you ask? Because concrete does float. I'm not making this up. It doesn't seen natural but think of other materials that we use. A chunk of steel sinks yet steel boats float. Same for aluminum. Objects float not because of the ability of the material itself to float, (this is where it gets technical) but because of the weight of the water it displaces. If the weight, or mass of the water displaced is less than the mass of the boat-you float. That's how the Coast Guard comes up with those maximum weight capacities for boats. Realizing this could be a good way to build ships, a brave man in Norway by the name of N.K. Fougner decided to go for it and built an 84 foot long ship. It floated. Then along comes WWI and steel is getting tough to come by. So the U.S. invites Mr. Fouger over for some tips on concrete ships. Twelve ships were completed, but luckily the war ended before they were launched. I would hate to have been a crewmember on one even though I know that concrete does float. The government once again ordered twenty four new ships to be built when WWII started. None of them survived as they were used to build breakwaters. There isn't any large scale concrete shipbuilding anymore. However I must confess. Even though I know otherwise, I still don't really believe that concrete floats!

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