Why do wooden boats sink?

Question

I thought wood floated?

Answer 1

wood does float.

the first question to ask is, what keeps wooden boats upright?

why don't they turn over?

some, like row boats, or canoes, just float, even when they turn over, and don't sink.

others, like sail boats, need some weight at the bottom,  called a keel, to keep the mast(s) pointing straight up.

in that case, if the wooden boat fills with water, there is enough weight in the keel to pull the wood under.

then they sink.

Answer 2

The wooden boat itself would float if it were empty, although probably on its side and sitting lower than you would expect.  The air inside the boat is what keeps it up out of the water.  What sinks is all of the stuff in the boat, like ducks and witches, and very small pebbles.

Answer 3

wood, soaked in enough water may sink, but galleons were built of wood and coated with tar, to protect.

Answer 4

If you break apart a wooden boat into firewood, most of it will float--except sections of wood that may have become waterlogged, of course.  But a boat is usually hauling lots of heavy stuff--cargo, engines, weapons, whatever.  So once it fills with water and loses the buoyancy it had due to its being basically a hollow container on top of the water, it goes down.

Answer 5

Too much weight, look up buoyancy.

Answer 6

Yes it does, but if the boat is loaded with cargo and springs a leak or takes on water, so the total weight of boat + cargo is more than the wieght of water displaced (my famous principle), then down she goes!