Man conquered the water element many millennia ago. In the legends and tales of all nations, swimming equipment has left its “wet” mark. The great Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey writes about ships and sailors. And these are no longer river boats, but sea ships! The ancient Greek hero Jason sets off for the Golden Fleece on the legendary Argo. In the gloomy kingdom of Hades, on a boat covered with leather, the old man Charon transports the souls of the dead across the icy waters of the Styx... The purpose of this fascinating book is not to present the entire history of shipbuilding. Such work can only be done by a team of historians and will fit into a multi-volume publication. After all, even a simple listing of the names of the types of ships that existed at different times and among different peoples will take several pages. The author briefly, interestingly and informatively tells the history of swimming craft from the raft to the submarine.