some bright spark came up with an idea
to build an entire boat out of concrete
an entire hull poured made of concrete
critics laughed said concrete does not float
wood floats ships are made of wood
they were told iron steel does not float
but ships are made from iron and steel
concrete ships built of steel ferrocement
ferrocement construction materials are cheap
cheap materials no specialist tools needed
reinforced concrete not steel or wood
Joseph-Louis Lambot in Southern France
in 1848 built the oldest known ferrocement
watercraft a dinghy using iron reinforcement
iron rods, chicken wire invented in Britain
in 1844, plus cement mortar masonry but
to do this he had to invent ferro-cement
in the 1860s ferrocement barges were built
in Europe for use on canals around 1896
small ships were built out of ferrocement
by 1908 to 1914 larger ferrocement barges
were built in 1917 the first self-propelled
ferrocement ship intended for ocean travel
was launched both World War 1 and 2 saw
increased construction in ferrocement due
to shortages of steel in military construction
why did concrete ship building fade between
the war years the reason was new shipbuilding
methods other techniques were cost cheaper
less labor-intensive the killer other kinds
of ships were competitive cheaper to operate
concrete ships entered the realm of forgotten
history rare built now as use pleasure craft
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
The more technical labor is The more development life The lesser technical labor is The lesser development life