The great gunship Vasa, carrying 64 cannons on two decks, was built to be the mightiest in Europe, during the expansion of King Gustavus Adolphus's empire around the Baltic. The Vasa was designed by a Dutch ship builder, Henrik Hybertsson, using the king's own dictated measurements. But on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628 to wage war on Poland, the ship sank in 100 feet of water in Stockholm's harbor

As the work was progressing on Wasa, the king was not all together satisfied. He wanted an even bigger ship. When the other great powers in the world had new two-gun-deckers, why not Sweden? He told the responsible engineers at the Royal Dockyard that he wanted the new ship to have an extra gun deck. Since the ship originally had been designed for one gun deck, the vessel was too narrow to support the height required for two gun decks. But no one dared to contradict the sovereign. So, on top of the almost finished Wasa, another deck was added. It was thought that perhaps some extra ballast would remedy the ship’s so obvious future instability.
In 1627, the Wasa was launched, and the following year she was moved to receive her ballast and cannons. All together, Wasa’s cannons weighed over 81 tons, all above the surface inside a wooden ship. A stability test done on all new ships was carried through. It consisted of letting thirty men run from the port side to the starboard side, back and forth. The rolling motion that then occurred was so alarming that the test had to be stopped.

So I'd like to know where, you got the notion
said I'd like to know where, you got the notion

to rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby
rock the boat, don't tip the boat over
rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby
rock the boat-t-t-t-t

Ever since our voyage of love began
your touch has thrilled me like the rush of the wind
and your arms have held me safe from a rolling sea
there's always been a quiet place to harbor you and me

Our love is like a ship on the ocean
we've been sailing with a cargo full of, love and devotion

So I'd like to know where, you got the notion
said I'd like to know where, you got the notion

To rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby
rock the boat, don't tip the boat over
rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby
rock the boat-t-t-t-t

Up to now we sailed through every storm
and I've always had your tender lips to keep me warm
oh I need to have the strength that flows from you
don't let me drift away my dear, when love can see me through

Our love is like a ship ...

Vasa (or Wasa)[1] was a warship that was built for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile (ca 2 km) into her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. Vasa fell into obscurity after initial attempts at recovering her valuable cannons in the 17th century but was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbour. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on April 24, 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and, as of 2007, has attracted more than 25 million visitors.

Vasa was built top-heavy with insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. King Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see Vasa join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the privy council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out.

During the 1961 recovery, thousands of artifacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around the hull of the Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden. When she was built, Vasa was intended to express the expansionist aspirations of Sweden and its king, Gustavus Adolphus, and no expense was spared in decorating and equipping her. She was one of the largest and most heavily armed warships of her time and was adorned with hundreds of sculptures, all of them painted in vivid colors.