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A pesar de que el barco es pesado, todavía flota.

A pesar de que el barco es pesado, todavía flota.
Even though the boat is heavy, it still floats.
From Lesson 199:Concessive clauses (a pesar de que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about A pesar de que el barco es pesado, todavía flota.

Why is es in the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive after a pesar de que?
We use the indicative (es) here because the fact that the boat is heavy is treated as a known, established reality. If we were talking about a hypothetical situation ('Even if the boat were heavy...'), we would use the subjunctive sea.
Why do we need the que in a pesar de que? Can we just say a pesar de?
You need que whenever a conjugated verb follows. Since es is a conjugated verb forming a full clause, we must use a pesar de que. If you were just using a noun phrase without a verb, like 'Despite the heavy boat', you would drop the que and say a pesar del barco pesado.
Why use es pesado instead of está pesado?
We use ser (here, es) because being heavy is seen as a permanent, inherent characteristic of the boat's design. If you used estar (está pesado), it would imply a temporary state, like a suitcase that happens to be heavy today because you packed too much.
I have seen todavía used for 'yet'. How do I know it means 'still' here?
Todavía generally translates to 'still' in affirmative sentences like this one (todavía flota = it still floats). It translates to 'yet' when used in negative sentences, such as todavía no flota (it does not float yet).

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