Editing Boat (section)

==Buoyancy==
{{Main|Buoyancy}}

A boat [[displacement (fluid)|displaces]] its weight in water, regardless whether it is made of wood, steel, fiberglass, or even concrete.  If weight is added to the boat, the volume of the hull drawn below the waterline will increase to keep the balance above and below the surface equal.  Boats have a natural or designed level of buoyancy.  Exceeding it will cause the boat first to ride lower in the water, second to take on water more readily than when properly loaded, and ultimately, if overloaded by any combination of structure, cargo, and water, sink.

As commercial vessels must be correctly loaded to be safe, and as the sea becomes less buoyant in brackish areas such as the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]], the [[Load line (watercraft)|Plimsoll line]] was introduced to prevent overloading.