Speculations: Zombies

[Vondrakenhof]

Given that zombies are walking corpses even if they did end up in the water somehow they'd end up dissolving. Bodies decompose much quicker in water than in air, add to that the salt (if your at sea) and fish constantly nibbling at their rotten carcasses. So you wouldn't have anything to worry about.

Except lack of supplies and going stir crazy and killing everyone of your fellow survivors...

 

[Ionami]

check Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide. It saved me from quite a few sticky (and undead) situations.

Sticky AND undead? Gross. I don't want to know what YOU were doing.

 

[Ionami]

Even if they did float, they wouldn't be able to climb up the side of the boat.

While I agree it would be unlikely they would be able to get to you, if they did somehow make their way to the boat, all they would need to do is tip it over, not climb in. Once you are in the water, they could once again chomp you at their leisure. And it is very easy to tip a boat over trying to climb in, unless someone is steadying it for you. Unless of course it's a large boat, in which case the zombie would need to either sink it or use it's inhuman strength to claw it's way up the side, possibly punching holes in the side of the boat. If it's a giant steel boat like a tanker you are probably safe, but a personal use boat is usually made out of fiberglass and is a lot more tippable/destructible.

Well, now who's gonna go out into the ocean in a rowboat?!

"...they escape uninjured and get back to the boat, but one of the crew was bitten just didnt alert any one in hopes to survive, then he turns on the boat and starts infecting the crew, the your fubar.

Like you said, they escape uninjured. Soooo.... clearly NO ONE got bitten. Problem solved.

 

[eatenbyagrue]

I'm doing an article for Cracked about this - sorta the places where everybody always thinks to go, why they're crap, and where you should go instead.

I think it's less about zombies being able to float and more about them not being able to actually swim.

Ever heard of the dog paddle? Thrashing around will get you there.

1) Zombies don't float. They don't build up methane like decomposing bodies do, so wouldn't float. The only floating zombies you'd have to worry about are people who died while wearing life jackets.

Says who? Without the bodies natural functions, the body would start building up gas all the same.

Funny, thats pretty much what I read in the Zombie Survival Guide.

This proves it then: neither Max Brooks nor I are professional scientists. So kids, never make second-hand claims unless you are prepared to apologize or back them up.

And now we know! And knowing is half the battle.

 

[Fortesque]

For any Australians out there. Have you noticed that Bunnings Warehouse is build strangely strong.

Massive hardware store- access to minor weapons and tools to make barricades.
Think concrete walls
Steel roller doors
Usually position near major shopping centers.

Thats my bunker when the Zombie Apocalypse happens.
The hardest thing about the Zombie Apocalypse will be trying not to act excited.

 

[sky14kemea]

The real problem is can you run a sail boat? I doubt it. The reason you'd need a sail boat is because they don't use gas. I bet you'd end up sailing into someone elses fail boat.
You'd also need an ass load of supplies to last a good five months. You'd also need a docter for when you got sick or injured. Medical supplies. Fuck you'd need a town on that boat.

what if somehow, someone organized a cruise liner? and filled it with supplies and stuff X3

also even if the zombies do float to your boat, im not sure they could pull themselves up to get you anyway... depends how high your boat is XD

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Bodies float due to methane build up. Do the zombies rot like normal bodies? Even if they do, the gas escapes and they sink, probably even quicker if the zombies are moving. Plus as the guy above me said, they'd be getting munched by fish and crabd the whole time.

Anyways, what you want is a very large oil tanker with a sectioned hold. One section holds fuel for the tanker, the other hold food. Vital spares and a workshop. Some solar panels/wind turbines on the decks would be handy hooked up to a water distillation system and fishing could reduce the space needed for food. A barbed wire fence with an overhang and an alarm around the whole ship would be a good idea, weapons locker just in case. Perhaps some antipersonnel mines stuck to the outside.

And last but not least: Search button.

 

[Hangman's Prize]

Either floating or walking on the sea bed would possibly destroy the zombies. Dead skin can't resist water so by being immersed in water the body would bloat and bust. The body would be destroyed eventually or by the time the zombie reaches the shore the damage would be so bad that the zombie would lose many of its advantages.

 

[dragontiers]

Even if they did float, they wouldn't be able to climb up the side of the boat.

While I agree it would be unlikely they would be able to get to you, if they did somehow make their way to the boat, all they would need to do is tip it over, not climb in. Once you are in the water, they could once again chomp you at their leisure. And it is very easy to tip a boat over trying to climb in, unless someone is steadying it for you. Unless of course it's a large boat, in which case the zombie would need to either sink it or use it's inhuman strength to claw it's way up the side, possibly punching holes in the side of the boat. If it's a giant steel boat like a tanker you are probably safe, but a personal use boat is usually made out of fiberglass and is a lot more tippable/destructible.

Well, now who's gonna go out into the ocean in a rowboat?!

1)I don't know about you, but if I'm being chased by zombies, I'm going to get on whatever is close by. Beggars can't always be choosers, and when zombies come calling, beggars we be.

2) Honestly, could you work an oil tanker/cruise ship on your own, and figure it out before the zombies climb on board? I know I couldn't. I wouldn't even know what half the knobs and buttons would do, and would be more likely to run the boat aground than get it out to sea.

3)There are plenty of other fiberglass based personal boating craft besides rowboats. Canoes, motorboats, sailboats, houseboats, paddleboats, and even the smaller yachts are fiberglass based. The smaller ones are easily flipped, and the larger ones are still easily destroyed by zombie brute force, and therefore sinkable.

4)Who said it had to be the ocean. This concept would also work in a large lake area. I live near the great lakes myself, and that would be a lot easier for me to get to than the ocean. Lakes tend to be a lot calmer than the ocean as well.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I honestly don't think there would be many places to survive said apocalpyse. After all, you'd prettymuch have to have a fallout shelter or something along those lines ready to go just in case. Especially on a boat, where are you going to get food and water from unless you have massive stockpiles, in which case you would have a massive boat to go along with it. It seems to be like there is no amount of planning that could save you from this scenario.

 

[Ionami]

Even if they did float, they wouldn't be able to climb up the side of the boat.

While I agree it would be unlikely they would be able to get to you, if they did somehow make their way to the boat, all they would need to do is tip it over, not climb in. Once you are in the water, they could once again chomp you at their leisure. And it is very easy to tip a boat over trying to climb in, unless someone is steadying it for you. Unless of course it's a large boat, in which case the zombie would need to either sink it or use it's inhuman strength to claw it's way up the side, possibly punching holes in the side of the boat. If it's a giant steel boat like a tanker you are probably safe, but a personal use boat is usually made out of fiberglass and is a lot more tippable/destructible.

Well, now who's gonna go out into the ocean in a rowboat?!

1)I don't know about you, but if I'm being chased by zombies, I'm going to get on whatever is close by. Beggars can't always be choosers, and when zombies come calling, beggars we be.

2) Honestly, could you work an oil tanker/cruise ship on your own, and figure it out before the zombies climb on board? I know I couldn't. I wouldn't even know what half the knobs and buttons would do, and would be more likely to run the boat aground than get it out to sea.

3)There are plenty of other fiberglass based personal boating craft besides rowboats. Canoes, motorboats, sailboats, houseboats, paddleboats, and even the smaller yachts are fiberglass based. The smaller ones are easily flipped, and the larger ones are still easily destroyed by zombie brute force, and therefore sinkable.

4)Who said it had to be the ocean. This concept would also work in a large lake area. I live near the great lakes myself, and that would be a lot easier for me to get to than the ocean. Lakes tend to be a lot calmer than the ocean as well.

Eff that. I'm not gonna chill out in a lake. You're entirely surrounded by land in a fairly small area. Even the great lakes. Too easy for zombies to get to you.

And if I can only find a small, easily flippable boat, then I'm simply NOT going to use that boat.

Also, it doesn't have to be an oil tanker, I mean, there ARE plenty of boats in between a canoe and an oil tanker to choose from.

Basically, if I'm going to try and survive in a boat, it's going to be a good sized one, in the ocean. Between ravenous zombie hordes, and storms and giant waves, I'll take my chances with nature. And if I had to die, I'd rather drown than be eaten alive.

 

[Datalord]

a humans bouyancy would have most zombies' mouthes under water. Water would fill the lungs, increasing the average density of the body, causing the zombie to sink. If the mouth is above the water line, an open would could cause the same thing to happen. Since zombies cannot climb, they cannot get onto a boat or oil rig anyway

 

[munx13]

Zombies can't walk on the bottom of the ocean. There is NOTHING making them heavyer then regular people. Anything that is surrounded by an ocean or even a big river is good enough, since they cant swim OR walk below water.

 

[Dablacknoddy]

Personally... I'd be more concerned about how long a zombie will last 'as' a zombie in the first place. I mean... won't they be decomposing as they hit the water? How long will their bodies last in a current?

 

[Grab-bag]

They will have the power to buy and drive speed boats! Otherwise I don't think they would be able to do that. They would float if they are practicly dead, wouldn't they?