Two concrete tankers, the SS Selma and SS Durham, turn a wartime shortcut into coastal legend. We trace how steel shortages sparked bold builds, why those ships failed at sea, and how their wrecks still shape fishing, folklore, and engineering lessons.
• concrete ship origins during WWI steel shortage
• how reinforced concrete hulls promised speed and savings
• the Selma’s specs, accident, failed repairs, and scuttling
• the wreck as reef, prohibition liquor smash, local lore
• Frenchy LeBlanc’s hermitage and media spectacle
• the Durham’s whale-back design and underpowered engine
• miserable Tampico voyage, sales, towlines, collisions
• conversion to storage and Sportsman’s Pier, storm damage
• where to spot remains near Pelican Island and North Jetty
• why the fleet ended and what engineers learned about durability
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