marine architecture

The design of boats is something that I know nearly nothing about, and I'm happy to keep things that way. The one thing I do know is that the ocean is a tough place to build. A structure like the one pictured here is regularly subjected to forces that would turn a land-based building into a pile of scrap within minutes. No wonder that the practical lifespan of ocean-going vessels is around 25 years.

I wonder what the ratio of land based structures to water based structures is by volume? My guess is probably 500 to 1 in favor of land architecture. I'm probably way off, and the more relevant point is that so much global prosperity, and often misery, is delivered by boats. It's hard to have a trade deficit without ships.