No. A boat floats due to the "displaced" water having weight that counter pushes on the hull from below. This is a fluid force. If you took the displaced water and put it in a container - could you lift that much water? The boat can't push it down and out any further.
A flotation device held under water - same as an air bubble wanting to travel to the surface. The object is less dense the water is more dense and wants to squeeze the lighter item to the surface. (so to speak) Again, the bubble is displacing a mass of water that wants to re-fill the void where the object is.
In one vision you can see that gravity is causing this fluid force as the objects have different densities and the greater masses pull toward each other.
The string theories of energy contain electro-magnetic variables and other influences which make these equations work.
My extreme point of view is everything in the universe is in motion and in "curved" space.
In classic astrophysic elliptical calculations you can see how much our large moon has on the rise in tide - and think of how far away it is.
So, gravity pulls the water toward the center of the planets dense core while the moons gravity pulls on the water creating the tides as we all go round and round.
A person standing next to you pulls on you but, you can't harness such a small force. A building pulls on you but, you can't harness it, do you even feel it? Do you feel the moon pull on your insides? It is so mild there is "no" power to harness.
I think we are left with what we already know. There is wind, and waves, and tides (got a big basin you can fill?), and height off the ground, and sunlight, and molecules, ... .
I'd like to find that magnetic field in the midwest to move boulders - but, the earths N-S fields have shifted since that one man construction job. (okay, I admit, this ones way out in left field)
Hope this helps.

