Is HMS Victory seaworthy?
Matthew Beesley
drydock as the HQ for the Commander of the British Home Fleet, is she
still seaworthy, such as in the case of the USS Constitution? While
Victory is over 50 years older than Constitution, I don't think in the
grand scheme of over 100 years of restorations and refits this really
makes a difference. When I was on the Victory a few years ago I believe
the guide mentioned that her masts were attached to the floor of the
dock, and were no longer supported by the hull of the ship itself. In
addition, all but three of Victory's guns are made of fiberglass to save
her decks from wear. Could all these barriers be overcome and the ship
made sea-worthy?
Andrew Toppan
: While I realise Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar in 1805 is in permament
: still seaworthy, such as in the case of the USS Constitution?
No. The hull isn't supporting itself, the dock is. Take the dock away,
and she'd probably go to pieces.
: Could all these barriers be overcome and the ship made sea-worthy?
Anything's possible if you throw enough money at it.
--
Andrew Toppan --- el...@wpi.edu --- http://www.wpi.edu/~elmer/
Railroads, Ships and Aircraft Homepage, Tom Clancy FAQ Archive
"It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."
IH8ScrName
German bomb didn't do her in :)
Regards
Tim
Gunpowder
be Captain, but, given enough funding, the Victory could be made seaworthy.
My question....why?
Bob
--
York...http://www.gil.com.au/~ryork Last Updated 04/1/96.
Brisbane...Queensland...Australia.....
Peter H. Granzeau
>: Could all these barriers be overcome and the ship made sea-worthy?
>Anything's possible if you throw enough money at it.
Replace every piece of wood, every nail, and every fitting, and I bet
she could go to sea.
Regards, PHG
ICBM:37ø01'48"N,76ø25'38"W
A R BREEN
IH8ScrName <ih8sc...@aol.com> wrote:
>As I recall she was afloat until 1930 or there abouts, assuming that
>German bomb didn't do her in :)
Aflat until the late 1920s, certainly. What seems to have made it essential
to do something about her *immediatly* then was that she was rammed by a
destroyer (I bet that did the career prospects of the destroyer captain
no good at all...).
The photographs of Victory afloat show her in pretty much her final
service condition, with the round bow and closed stern fitted in either
her 1807 or 1813 reconstructions and the reduced rig from her days as the
Portsmouth guardship. The open bow and galleried stern date from her
1930s rebuilding after docking.
# Andy Breen # Fflachennau Rhynblanedol / Interplanetary Scintillation |
# ---------- # Adran Ffiseg / Physics Department |
# a...@aber.ac.uk # Prifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth, Cymru, EU. 44+(0)1970621907 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unless this posting concerns the solar wind all opinions are purely personal
Greg Sigler
>
>To beat up on USS Constitution?
>
Barring an accident or a serious visibility limitation, Victory would never
catch Constitution.
--
Greg Sigler (gr...@apsg.eds.com) |
EDS Advanced Product Support |
--- Unless I say otherwise, I speak solely for myself ---
Graydon
: I think it's a crying shame that there isn't a seaworthy British
: ship ready to take on the refitted Constitution. I'd therefore suggest
: that the Canadian government build a reconstruction of HMS St. Lawrence,
: the 112-gun ship of the line built on Lake Ontario in 1814. Complete
: drawings for her survive in Britain and her wreck still lies in the
: harbour at Kingston, Ontario.
Well, no, it doesn't, the wooden ships were scuttled in Battleship Bay
(the other side of Point Frederick, where the Royal Military College is),
not the main harbour, and it's most unlikely that there's anything left by
now; wood rots pretty quick in Lake Ontario. (Although something from
St. Lawrence is in the Maritime Museum in Kingston, embarrasingly, I
can't remember *what*.)
This is not to say that I wouldn't like to see an reproduction of St.
Lawrence built, but I don't think it's any too likely.
--
saun...@qlink.queensu.ca | Monete me si non anglice loquobar.
Arthur Leung
Kenneth Stickney <af...@ccn.cs.dal.ca> wrote:
> I think it's a crying shame that there isn't a seaworthy British
>ship ready to take on the refitted Constitution. I'd therefore suggest
>that the Canadian government build a reconstruction of HMS St. Lawrence,
>the 112-gun ship of the line built on Lake Ontario in 1814. Complete
>drawings for her survive in Britain and her wreck still lies in the
>could quickly reach the open sea, defeat the Constitution and reduce the
>American colonies to obedience.
> Forgive me, I'm getting carried away.
i could be remembering this all wrong.... but.... from
what i remember of my e.l. beach, the great lakes ships had some
design compromises that would limit their open ocean utility.
i know they carried less in the way of provisions (food and water)
since they could be supplied easily on the lakes. they had less
seakeeping margin and, IIRC, the lowest rank of guns could not
be fired in any kind of swell.
not that i wouldn't mind seeing her built.
-- arthur
A R BREEN
Kenneth Stickney <af...@ccn.cs.dal.ca> wrote:
> I think it's a crying shame that there isn't a seaworthy British
>ship ready to take on the refitted Constitution. I'd therefore suggest
>that the Canadian government build a reconstruction of HMS St. Lawrence,
>the 112-gun ship of the line built on Lake Ontario in 1814. Complete
>drawings for her survive in Britain and her wreck still lies in the
>harbour at Kingston, Ontario. What with the St. Lawrence Seaway, she
>could quickly reach the open sea, defeat the Constitution and reduce the
>American colonies to obedience.
I'd suggest Trincomalee.. 1817 44-gun (nominal) frigate, built
out of Teak (which should make her a tough beast) and currently under
restoration.
Of course, if we just confine it to *masted* warships we could
always really live up to the 'perfidious albion' tag and work on
taking Warrior to sea. After all, she was originally classed as a frigate :)
Frank Gleaves
>In article <4dltp3$r...@ra.isisnet.com>,
>Kenneth Stickney <af...@ccn.cs.dal.ca> wrote:
:: I think it's a crying shame that there isn't a seaworthy British
::ship ready to take on the refitted Constitution. I'd therefore suggest
::that the Canadian government build a reconstruction of HMS St. Lawrence,
::the 112-gun ship of the line built on Lake Ontario in 1814.
: I'd suggest Trincomalee.. 1817 44-gun (nominal) frigate, built
:out of Teak (which should make her a tough beast) and currently under
:restoration.
: Of course, if we just confine it to *masted* warships we could
:always really live up to the 'perfidious albion' tag and work on
:taking Warrior to sea. After all, she was originally classed as a frigate :)
No, No, No, No, No!!!!!
That's WOODEN ships and iron MEN!
Trincomalee will be Quite enough, Thank You... :-)
Frank Gleaves
"Free Trade and Sailors' Rights!"
Don't you see the ships a-coming, don't you see them in full sail?
Don't you see the ships a-coming with the prizes at their tail?
Sailors they get all the money, Soldiers they get none but brass.
I do love a jolly sailor, Soldiers they may kiss my ___ .
from the song of the whores of Gosport, "Above and Under Hatches",
CDR James Anthony Gardner, RN (1836)