Why Vasa Sank: Stability and Cutaway Guide

Our own cutaway and stability drawings, the 1628 evidence, the stability test, the modern measurements and rulers, and every cause weighed side by side, with the opinion clearly marked.

What’s inside:

• Vasa from the side
• How a ship stays upright
• What was wrong with Vasa
• The stability test
• What the modern research found
• Two kinds of ruler
• The causes, side by side
• The inquest and the modern view
• Credits, licence and sources

Pages: 10 (A4) / 10 (US Letter). Formats: A4 (210 × 297 mm) and US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), both PDFs included in one zip.

Printing: Print at 100% / actual size on A4 or US Letter. Inside pages use light backgrounds and print well in black and white; the cover is dark, so start from page 2 to save ink.

Every fact is written in our own words and checked against named sources from the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet), Vrak – Museum of Wrecks, Radio Sweden, PRI’s The World, the US Naval Institute and the Mary Rose Trust (checked 10 Nov 2026); the sources are listed on the credits page. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with its source. Our own opinions are clearly labelled.

Drawings and charts are our own. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons or public-domain terms, credited on the credits page. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet), the Swedish National Maritime and Transport Museums, Vrak, Radio Sweden, PRI, the US Naval Institute, the Mary Rose Trust or any photographer named here.

Licence: personal use. Print as many copies as you need for yourself and your household. Please don’t resell, re-upload or share it publicly. For club, school or commercial use, please email info@reallybyte.com.

Made by REALLYBYTE, the team behind vasa.nautical.im. Questions: info@reallybyte.com

This is a digital download: no physical item will be shipped.