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automatvapen t1_itos5wp wrote

Reply to comment by motoxjake in Archaeologists have found the 17th-century warship Applet: Maritime experts believe wreck is sister-ship of Vasa, which sank off Stockholm in 1629 by MeatballDom

They actually made four in total with wasa as the first ship. Let's call it a failed "design concept"

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War_Hymn t1_itpugjs wrote

If I recall, the designer (a Dutch master shipwright) was bedridden from illness during the Vasa's construction and his nephew or assistant took over the project. The ship ended more top heavy than it should had been, contributing to it's instability.

I'm sure the later sister ships were built with improvements and changes, keep in mind the Vasa was at the cutting edge of ship design at the time - they were trying build not only large, but fast.

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Cat5lover t1_itpx6vg wrote

I believe it was also this. In spirit of collaboration, the Dutch did one side and the Swedes did the other. The unfortunate part was that the Dutch inch and the Swedish inch are slightly different which led to one side being heavier than the other causing it to lean too far to one side and take on water some few hundred meters from shore.

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culingerai t1_itrij7t wrote

Source?

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Cat5lover t1_itsb7g2 wrote

I went to the museum itself a few years ago, but I found this which discusses the instability of the ship. https://faculty.up.edu/lulay/failure/vasacasestudy.pdf

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culingerai t1_itswuu0 wrote

Good information, but it doesnt address the claim on the inches. Im only asking as this sounds like some sort of urban legend rather than a factual reason for its failure.

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Cat5lover t1_ituudk0 wrote

That’s a fair assessment. I unfortunately couldn’t find a reference during my brief search, but that was what they said when we went to the museum.

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panckage t1_itqxkoe wrote

That's right. The unusual thing about the Vasa is you could walk the whole length of the gun deck upright. Previous designs you would need to bend over to walk past the crossbeams. It is this extra height that is blamed for the ship rolling over and consequently sinking

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