The Software Development Edge(c) Essays on Managing Successful Projects

Things Aren't Always as They Seem

When you see the Vasa today, your first impression is "No way!" The boat looks tall, narrow, and top-heavy. However, it turns out that boats of that epoch were all of this design, and most of them were stable. Calculations conducted today on the resurrected ship show that the numbers were off, but not by as much as you might think; the center of stability is only several inches too high. This is actually a surprising result.^[3]

^[3] Much of the technical information on the Vasa is drawn from the most authoritative book (in English) on the subject, Why Wasa Capsized (ISBN 91-85268-23-2), by Curt Borgenstam and Anders Sandström, around 1984. This thin book (80 pages) is published by the National Maritime Museum, Stockholm. My copy is one of 2,000 printed.