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HMS Victory threatened by wood rot.


Gremlin56

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Be a great pity if we were to loose the Victory

Interesting that the biggest problem is with wood they have replaced in the last 30 years!

Just goes to show the old shipbuilders new what they were doing.

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Yes, their new wood was optimum age old growth oak. That's a scarce commodity for over a century now

Shane

Could always bung in a chunk of eucalyptus trunk from Oz i suppose :winkgrin:

I think they were rather clear on the problems resulting from using a form of laminate instead of a solid piece of wood.

:coolio:

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Interesting that the biggest problem is with wood they have replaced in the last 30 years!

I hope Victory's not like Trigger's broom!

Graham

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I think it is a bit like Trigger's broom in parts.

Mrs Loft-full is on one of the Society for Nautical Research's (SNR) committees. She dragged me down there last summer for one of her do's. See this link for their involvement with getting the Victory preserved.

http://snr.org.uk/heritage/hms-victory/

We spoke to Andrew Baines who said that some of the timbers were the consistency of Weetabix, and that it was possible to stick one's finger into it in places. The entire ship has slumped, I think he said, 150mm. The ship has amber laser prisms mounted around the hull so that this effect can be monitored. But the interesting thing was, that the dry dock she is in is also affected by the tides and that they have to be allowed for when the laser scans are compared with one another.

Anyway, the dinner on board was lovely, and I only bumped my head once.

:

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Would be a shame to see the old lady go.

Glad I have so many pictures of her. wonderfull tour a few years back.

I thought now she was going under a refit for some years. Maybe that's the reason

Foxy :coolio: .

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Yes, their new wood was optimum age old growth oak. That's a scarce commodity for over a century now

Shane

I think they used to leave the wooden keel exposed for 6 months to season it further - or start the rot.

The USS Constitution is built of Boston Oak which gave it the nickname "Ironsides"

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Manor houses used to have the floors of their great halls etc made of oak so in times of war ships could be repaired quickly without having to hunt around for wood the correct length's etc...

You know what that statement means !

I must have actually listened at some point in school...

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If they can sort the Cutty Sark out, then they can the Victory, too few of our naval vessels are left for people to see, got pics of the first Holland submarine passing HMS Victory at Portsmouth at the turn of the twentieth century. Been on board her a few times, got deagostini Victory in construction. We wont let here disappear, I say. Depending on the damaged part, steel/aluminium replacements could added with timber surrounds, to strengthen her, but keep the appropriate appearance.

Chris

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I'm not much into boaty floaty things, but there's something about the Victory. I've done a lot of work in Portsmouth Dockyard, and occasionally I've been in a position to take a shot of the old girl that's from a slightly different perspective than the general public:

26012009_002a_zps2d7bb8fe.jpg

Not a bad view from the office window, is it? This was in 2009, taken from the window of a training room opposite the bow, before the dismantling started in earnest. Last time I looked, the figurehead was gone, half of the planking around the bow was missing, and the top of the masts had been removed. I feel sorry for the tourists who pay to look at it and think "Is that all that's left of it?"

Real shame.

Dean

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If she were in service , she'd be undergoing regular refits and replacements. Don't the RN consider her still to be so? I'm sure as I dare she'll not be allowed to deteriorate when it's understood what any new priorities are.

I have some unidentified laminated 'wood' square section strips that were buried in my garden for at least 30 years. They're v v heavy for their size and like jablo. When cleaned off, they were as fresh and as straight as a die as when I stuck them in there. They've gone back into my useable stock, whatever they are. Not suggesting these'll fix her!! - But it makes me think she'll get to try and have to accept a lot of 'Mods' unpalatable to us purists.

Perhaps in our national Forest, we should plant and nurture tracts of English oak specifically for use on the Victory in the 25th century ( to replace the 23rd century Hyper-nutrino-stimulated-forced-oak substitute which promised so much). In the meantime they'd provide a constant focus, representing important values for this country. Now there's rot for you!

Now back to my Frog Hornet, now with nicely tapered wing section.

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How much of the Victory is the original wood from when she was built, as I would imagine not much, was she not damaged at Trafalgar

Most of the ships that were at the head of the 2 columns were badly damaged but the damage was mostly to the upper decks and masts, as the French/Spanish concentrated on them to clear the decks for boarding.

thanks

Mike

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  • 4 weeks later...

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation of a paper by Commodore Newell and Mr Robert Turner about the sustainabiliy support for HMS Victory at the International Naval Engineering Conference in 2012.

Robert Turner was an advisor for Victory's conservation and had previously been involved in the restoration and preservation of the SS Great Britain. He offered up comparrisons with Victory's long term future. It was fascinating stuff.

One of the reasons why Victory is undergoing refit is that the wood they used in the 1980s refit was Iroko which deteriorated much more rapidly than expected and so the intention is to strip it out and use a much more enduring wood such as Teak. The reason for not using Oak is that the natural spores in the wood react with rain water causing rot.

As for the original material, part of the conservation plan is to assess, document and preserve it in situ if at all possible.

I am off to read the paper again. :bye:

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I'm not much into boaty floaty things, but there's something about the Victory. I've done a lot of work in Portsmouth Dockyard, and occasionally I've been in a position to take a shot of the old girl that's from a slightly different perspective than the general public:

26012009_002a_zps2d7bb8fe.jpg

Not a bad view from the office window, is it? This was in 2009, taken from the window of a training room opposite the bow, before the dismantling started in earnest. Last time I looked, the figurehead was gone, half of the planking around the bow was missing, and the top of the masts had been removed. I feel sorry for the tourists who pay to look at it and think "Is that all that's left of it?"

Real shame.

Dean

Was having a look around her a couple of weeks ago with my son, he got me in f.o.c on his pass, sadly it looks nothing as impressive as that picture now

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I have a small piece of the original hull and copper plating made into a blotter and presented to me when I left the Navy.

My Grandfather bought a piece of her for my Dad as a memento for a shilling in the 1920's and as he died in 1926 I wonder what is original? As has been said Triggers broom comes to mind. This does not show much just her masts but alive webcam anyyway

http://www.hmswarrior.org/webcam

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IIRC, HMS Victory is still in commission - she is the Flagship of the First Sea Lord.

From Wiki..... She is the flagship of the First Sea Lord since October 2012 and is the world's oldest naval ship still in commission

On one visit a few years ago, I asked one of the male guides if it was true that the gunners used to 'skip' the cannonballs to get more range - 'perfectly true' was the answer. (he also said the cannon balls travelled at supersonic speed!!!)

One a subsequent visit a few months later, the female guide asked for any questions at the end of the guided tour.

As no-one replied, I politely asked about the cannonball skipping again....

Her answer.... 'It never happened'

So - pay your entrance fee and take your choice.......

Ken

Edited by Flankerman
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  • 3 months later...

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