Leonardo da Vinci’s ship-safety concept used a double hull to reduce the danger of leaks.
A double hull places an inner shell inside an outer shell, creating a space between them. Leonardo’s maritime designs included this principle as a way to make vessels more resistant to damage and flooding. If the outer surface were breached, the inner hull could still help keep water away from the ship’s main interior.
Leonardo studied boats, water resistance, paddles, locks, and canals in his notebooks. His engineering work was broader than a single famous machine: he repeatedly examined how structures behaved under pressure and how water could be controlled. The double-hull idea fits that practical approach to maritime safety.
The concept is not the same as a ballast tank. Ballast tanks hold water or other weight to control a vessel’s stability, while a double hull creates protective structural layers. Double hulls later became important in modern shipbuilding, especially for reducing pollution after damage to oil tankers.