About 50 years ago, wood boats operating in the ice had Iron Wood as a 2nd layer of planking above and below the waterline where ice would rub. It's very dense wood and usually doesn't float on its own. In my youth as a shipwright I worked on a number of Alaska boats and barges that had ice protection. It didn't make them ice breakers, but allowed them to work their way thru ice flows and pack ice.
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