User:ThoughtIdRetired/sandbox/referencing experiments

article lead.

Sailing rig
The preservation of so many items from the sailing rig of Vasa is unique among shipwrecks that have been fully investigated. Generally, the masts, sails and rigging, if not lost in the original wrecking event, are much more exposed to contemporary salvage, degradation or loss than the lower hull components that usually make up the remains of wrecks. With Vasa, virtually all of the lower fore and main masts have survived, much of the bowsprit and two yards which are likely derived from the ship. To this are added the six sails (out of a complement of ten) that were not set on the maiden voyage, but stored below in the sailroom, the 412 gun tackle and rigging blocks (plus 143 pieces) recovered out of a possible outfit of about 600, the deadeyes used to adjust the tension in the shrouds, of which 125 were recovered, parrel ribs and trucks, and ropes. By comparison, the Red Bay wreck 24M yielded 48 standing blocks (equivalent to deadeyes) and 24 running blocks whilst the Mary Rose produced only blocks that were stored below decks – and the recovered sail has yet to be investigated. Neither of these had surviving masts, with their size only being estimated from the dimensions of the mast partners and steps. Vasa's sailing rig finds easily outnumber the aggregate total of finds from these two wrecks plus those from La Belle (sunk 1686) and Santo Antonio de Tanna (sunk 1697).

Masts and spars
Vasa's lower mainmast and foremast largely survived, the topmasts and topgallants were salvaged soon after the sinking and so were not recovered with the wreck. The mizzen and mizzen topmast did not survive.

The foremast is made from a single pine tree with extra material to make the cheeks and the hounds. Because this mast was left standing for so long, its original surface at levels above the gundeck is largely eroded away. It has one historic break, which means that its exact length is slightly uncertain.

Strangely, since Sweden was the country with the best mast making timber in Europe, the lower mainmast is a "made mast" – assembled from a number of pieces of timber that reinforce a central core – rather than being from a single tree. The best mast-making timber of this time was described as "Gothenburg masts", that being the port from which they were exported. Dendrochronology shows that some timber from the hull ceiling was sourced from the Gothenburg area. However, it seems the mast was purchased through the Amsterdam timber market.

Blocks and deadeyes
Blocks (commonly called pulleys) are a means of redirecting the path of a rope or providing a mechanical advantage, either on its own or in combination with other blocks, to increase the force applied. The majority of blocks have a sheave which rotates on an axle – the rope that goes through the block fits into a groove cut in the sheave. The load in the rope is transferred from the axle to the shell of the block, which, at the time of Vasa, has a rope strop (usually) or wrought iron strap which goes around the shell and is used to fasten the block to another object. More rarely, a block does not have a sheave. It is then termed a "dead block".

Deadeyes are used in the standing rigging. These are the pieces of wood that, operating in pairs, allow adjustment of the length of shrouds or stays. A lanyard passes through a number of holes in each pair – tightening the lanyard shortens the distance between the pair of deadeyes. Since natural fibre ropes can change in length depending on the amount of moisture in them, the standing rigging of a 17th century ship needed much more adjustment than a more modern sailing vessel.

Bibliography (copied from Vasa (ship))







 * 
 *