Pontoon bridge the pontoons, increasing the drag from river current and potentially damaging the bridge. See below for floating pontoon failures and disasters. In ancient China, the Zhou Dynasty Chinese text of the "Shi Jing" ("Book of Odes") records that King Wen of Zhou was the first to create a pontoon bridge in the 11th century BC. However, the historian Joseph Needham has pointed out that in all likely scenarios, the temporary pontoon bridge was invented during the 9th or 8th century BC in China, as this part was perhaps a later addition to the book (considering how the book had been
Pontoon (boat) of the world, especially in Africa. Pontoon ferries may be motorised, such as the Kazungula Ferry across the Zambezi River, or powered by another boat, or pulled by cables. A type of ferry known as the cable ferry ("punts" was what they were called in the medieval times and in modern Australia and New Zealand) pull themselves across a river using a motor or human power applied to the cable, which also guides the pontoon. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A raft supporting a house-like structure is a houseboat. The flotation tubes of rigid-hulled inflatable boats are