Fuxa Wreck, C. 1610
Country: Cuba
Place: Los Colorados, Cuba
Identified: Not identified by name (initially thought to be the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, lost in 1590, but coin evidence points to a later loss)
Dated: Circa 1610, based on coins recovered from the wreck
Beam: 8.571 m (15 codos) (after Veitia and Palacio)
Keel Length: 17.11 m (30 codos) (after Veitia and Palacio)
Length Overall: 25.713 m (45 codos) (after Veitia and Palacio)
Number of Masts: At least one; a maststep was identified as an expanded portion of the keelson
History of the shipwreck
Found at Los Colorados, Cuba, in 1989, the wreck was excavated by CARISUB in the early 1990s. It was initially thought to be the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, lost in Cuba in 1590, but coins dating from the early seventeenth century have placed the loss circa 1610.
The hull was raised and preserved with sugar, but its conservation was abandoned after the implementation of new policies in Cuba that allowed for treasure hunting (Alessandro Mirobal, pers. comm.); the timbers were eventually thrown away and abandoned in a garbage dump.
Description of the site
A large portion of the hull was preserved, containing portions of the keel, keelson, sternpost and knee, maststep, frames, planking, and ceiling. One unidentified piece may be part of the bow structure.
Cargo
Not described in the source text.
Hull Remains
There is no complete plan of the hull. Six floors appear to have been preserved forward of the master frame, along with all the structure abaft it; of this structure, 15 floors are visible sitting on the keel, with space for more than another 10 over the deadwood immediately abaft the fifteenth floor.
Keel
The keel is poorly preserved, 25 cm sided and 25 to 30 cm molded. It bears no rabbets, and there is no information on its scarves.
The keelson is preserved along 4.3 m, sided 28 cm, molded 25 cm, notched over the frames, and fastened with horizontal flat scarves; it shows stanchion holes, and its upper edges were smoothed.
The maststep is an expanded portion of the keelson, 1.70 m long, sided 45 cm, molded 40 cm, sitting over four frames. Its mortise is 60 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 14 cm deep, and it is supported by four buttresses on each side.
The sternpost is preserved along 1.30 m, sided 25 cm, molded 32 cm, with no scarves preserved and no information on the rabbets; it rakes 70°. An inner sternpost was preserved over 1.73 m, sided 21 cm, molded 23 cm, showing a hook on the face in contact with the sternpost. Another timber, represented on the drawings, is lodged between the inner sternpost and the stern knee.
Frames
A total of 23 frames or positions appear to be represented on the plan. Floors amidships are very flat. Dimensions are given for five floors: 3.90-4.40 m wide, 16-26 cm sided, 18-26 cm molded. Room-and-space is 35-45 cm.
All frames appear to have had dovetail joints, with the mortise on the floor, wide side up. The master frame has dovetail scarves on both sides.
It is not clear how many floors sit on the keel abaft frame 15. Closer to the stern, the floors and Y-frames sit on a deadwood notched for that purpose.
Two riders, notched over the keelson and stringers, were placed before and abaft the maststep.
Planking
Twenty-nine planks were preserved, 5 cm thick and 20-40 cm wide. The garboards were 6 cm thick.
Ceiling, thick stuff and wales
Forty-one planks were preserved, 3 cm thick and 20-40 cm wide.
Fastenings
Floors and futtocks are fastened with two treenails, 3 cm in diameter, one on each side of the dovetail scarf. Planks are fastened to frames with square iron nails, 1 cm sided, three per frame, spaced 8-12 cm apart. Stringers are fastened to frames with square iron nails, 2 cm sided. Buttresses are fastened to frames with square iron nails, 1-2 cm sided, five per buttress.
Caulking
Plank 215 showed remains of lead sheathing. The description suggests that the planks in the stern section may have been entirely lined with lead sheets.
Ballast
No information available.
Size and scantlings
This ship is thought to have been 25.713 m (45 codos) long overall, with a beam of 8.571 m (15 codos), a depth in hold of 4.285 m (7.5 codos), a keel length of 17.11 m (30 codos), and a capacity of around 300.58 toneladas (after Veitia and Palacio).
Keel: 25 cm sided, 25-30 cm molded. Floors: 16-26 cm sided, 18-26 cm molded. Futtocks: dimensions not given. Room-and-space: 35-45 cm. Planking: 20-40 cm wide, 5-6 cm thick. Ceiling: 20-40 cm wide, 3 cm thick.
Wood
Most timbers — frames, keelson, maststep, and footwales — were made of oak (Quercus pubescens). However, several other woods were found on this ship, mostly American, in the rigging, capstan, and ornamented gratings.
References
Perez, Alessandro Lopez, and Cesar Alonso Sanson. La Nao Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Naufragio para la Historia. Ed. Dep. Arqueología, Carisub, Cuba, 1992.
Perez, Alessandro Lopez, and Cesar Alonso Sanson. 1590: La Nao Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Estudio de su estructura. Ed. Dep. Arqueología, Carisub, Cuba, 1993.