Why Cement Ships Were A Terrible Idea

Ships have been an integral part of humanity forever. Even very primitive tribes use boats and canoes. There are many kinds of these vessels to imagine wooden, aluminum, and steel. Even concrete ships floated around the world. The wreck of one called the SS Atlantus can be spotted in Cape May, New Jersey. The SS Atlantus is probably the most famous concrete ship. She was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company in Georgia and was the second concrete ship constructed in the World War I Emergency Fleet. SS Atlantus was a 260 feet long cargo ship powered by a steam engine. SS Atlantus could swim at speeds up to 10.5 knots, about 12 mph. The steamer was launched on December 5, 1918.

00:00 Concrete ships did exist, and they floated around the world.
00:38 The first concrete ship was built in France in 1848 by Joseph-Louis Lambot.
02:02 The history of England's concrete ships
02:43 Why the Italian engineer, Carlo Gabellini, built ships out of Ferro-cements.
02:57 The SS Selma, the world's largest concrete ship.
04:00 Why did the US government start building concrete ships?
07:29 The history of the Shipping Act of 1916,
08:02 The first concrete ship built by Emergency Fleet, the marvelous SS Atlantus.
11:00 What is the shipwreck at Cape May, NJ?

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[boathemian]

I lived on a Ferrocement sailboat for 20 years. It was an awesome vessel, dry and extremely stable finish that held paint better than wood.
It’s important they are built properly by skilled workers. BTW she was built 25 years before we got her.

[fredbarb]

Steel or concrete, ships do not float by means of air tight compartments. Thet float in the same way a row boat or canoe floats. The hull is sufficiently large to displace a volume of water greater than the weight of the hull and cargo .

Many modern sailing craft are still made use a similar method, known as ferro-cement hulls.

[DARRENWALKERBIGD]

There are literally 7 of these being used as a break water off Kiptopeake State Park 2.5hrs south of the Cape May/Lewis Ferry in Virginia. And they are intact if anyone wants to visit.

[IreneSalmakis]

I find myself admiring Atlantus. The ship lasted far longer and performed far better than anyone had really dared to hope, from a project born of desperation.

[D-B-Cooper]

I’m still waiting to hear why it was a terrible idea. I’m on the west coast and know of several liberty ships used as breakwaters and are still fine. There are ferro cement sail boats, one in my harbor here, when sealed with epoxy so the iron rebar doesn’t leach out will last a very long time. The original Green Peace sailing ship was ferro.

[colinnagy]

My dad used to always point out the Atlantis on our trips to cape may every summer as a kid. I didn’t believe him at first when he told me it was cement. Glad to see some small pieces of history being remembered

[biggseye]

So in fact the ships hull has survived as long or longer than a steel hulled ship of its time subject to the same conditions. Seems it is more durable than you give credit.

[sailingspark]

something to comment that I have read about the Atlantis as I grew up in Cape May. Supposedly she was very smooth in sailing. The Concrete dampened the vibrations from her engine and screw. She did need extra care when being maneuvered to dock, but aside from being slow (underpowered) they sailed just fine.

[n.mariner]

Ferrocement was first invented and patented by Joseph Monier in 1867. When done right, it is one of the best materials for ship building, and still in use for smaller boats today. It is better than Polyester Laminate (no osmosis), better than steel (no rust), better than aluminum (no electrolysis), better than wood (indefinite life expectancy). It only needs a lot of work by hand, which makes it quite costly, but is very useful for making your own boat.

[eugenecbell]

In the mid 80’s when I was in college in Nj there were concrete canoe contests that a bunch of engineering universities competed in. The students designed, built, and rowed the canoes. Lots of fun was had by all and learning too.

[brucelee]

Britain made large numbers of concrete ships in WW2, mainly large barges and coastal cargo ships. Some ended up sunk as part of the artificial harbors in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord (D-Day) 1944 as well as the purpose built concrete 'caissons' that were towed across the Chanel.

[tankz]

The SS Palo Alto is another WW1-era concrete ship that’s still around as a wreck; it’s sitting at the end of a pier in Aptos, California.

[philslaton]

I recall the ferro cement sailboar craze of the 1970s.

[jonvia]

Great video! My uncle used to work at the ship yard in Norfolk as a welder and my grandpa was in the Navy.

[agaoj]

Counter-intuitive BUT desperate times call for desperate measures. These ships served longer than though possible and were an undeniable last resort. Thanks for the educational contribution

[peterdeane]

Well, I'd certainly believe that cement ships are a thing, seeing as how our town has a breakwater made from about a half-dozen of them, known locally as the Hulks. There has been at least one book written about them. I seem to remember that one of them was removed several years back and sunk to form an artificial reef. The hot water tank in our house came from one of the Hulks, and still works perfectly well.

[metalmanglingmariner]

Ferrocement was all the rage in racing yachts 40 years ago here in Australia
The most famous yacht, whose name I can't recall was known as the flying footpath

[louisschueler]

There are several concrete ships made during the second world War, in Powell River British Columbia and they are still afloat

[THX..]

Floating oil platforms are essentially concrete ships and there are many of them in service around the world.

[wackyotter]

There is a cement ship in Monterey bay. Used as a floating hotel/casino than burned down, it stayed there intact as a shell for the longest time. It broke up back in 2016 about, still there just in 3 pieces after a bad storm.