How sailing navies moved mast timber to dockyards

How were masts transported from forests to shipyards between 1600 and 1830?

Suitable trees usually travelled down rivers and then by sea as whole logs, preserving material for years of seasoning before dockyard workers shaped them into masts.

Suitable trees usually travelled down a river before being loaded aboard a transport ship. They normally remained whole logs during the journey so that the wood stayed as close as possible to its original condition before shaping. Some could be made into masts near the coast, but the receiving naval yard usually carried out that work after prolonged curing and seasoning, including years in a mast pool. The examples of Victory and Constitution introduce a qualification about long-lived wooden ships: major rebuilding could replace much of a vessel while retaining its identity.