I think it's reasonable to admit that people of the time who lived near water at some point in their life
may have seen or used at least canoes...
So also safe to assume Adam & Eve had a canoe?..since Genesis mentions 4 rivers associated with the garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:10
" And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads."if boating wasn't part of their lifestyle, id say they were not making the most of things...
....I think it's safe to assume that Noah had knowledge of proper boat construction....
... I'm going to assume that people of Noah's time weren't as ignorant as most people think...
Seems God doesn't trust Noah to have the fundamental sound knowledge of boat building...for he had to
specifically tell him the type of timber and about requirement to tar the structure:
Genesis 6:14
"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch".
I also think it's reasonable to expect that they could know a rounded and faired hull wouldn't get slapped around
like a flat bottom and flat side, and would be stronger as well. It ain't rocket science - for anyone who's been around various boats.
Anyone who's 'been around various boats' in Noahs time likely wouldn't need be told what specific timbers or about taring the inside/out
of the hull...If Noah don't already know that, then it don't seem wise to safely assume he knew of the best basic hull shape for the task.
