21-FEB-2006
Original colours
The ship today is dark and brooding. Originally she was brightly painted, as you can see here.
21-FEB-2006
Gun-carriage
The Swedish king at the time, Gustav Adolf, was great proponent of artillery. So it should not be too surprising that Vasa carried state-of-the art naval gun carriages. This type of gun carriage remained in use until after the Napoleonic wars with only minor modifications.
21-FEB-2006
Ship's boat
Ships at this time were equipped with a very big ship's boat, usually towed behind the ship rather than stowed aboard it. It was used to carry men and equipment to and from the ship, and was big enough to be used independently (on a small scale of course). It has a large windlass midships to help in anchor-handling, and had a mast and sail.
21-FEB-2006
Ship's boat stern detail
You get an idea of the extremely rugged construction of this boat.
21-FEB-2006
Ships's boat windlass
The windlass was used to assist when handling the very heavy ship's anchor. Spokes were inserted into the holes in the windlass drum.
21-FEB-2006
Ship's boat detail
You can see the mast supports.