[Duncan112]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/env...wn-weight.html

[captain61]

Thanks for this info ..some good comments too British heritage going down the pan

Stephen

[teb]

Have just read in our local paper here in WA the article from the DT.,stating that" Victory" Nelsons Flagship is rotting and falling apart ,and that the ship faces an ucertain fate as the Govt. is looking to cut funding for its upkeep!!
If Britain is not prepaired to maintain it's History-it's Heritage, does it deserve a future one might ask?!!!!!!

[billyboy]

Trouble is that most of the MP's have been on Business management courses. one of the things they probably learned was that there can be no sentiment in business. Therefor they don't give a toss about heritage as long as they get their bonuses and expenses

[spongebob]

I seem to remember that the Government gave a huge financial grant to this ship only a year or so ago,
At the time I posted saying "Wot about the Cutty Sark!"

Bob

[RobertTaylor]

My relatives fought on The Victory. The ship has been an inspiration to generations and will continue to be. If the Yanks can keep the Constitution afloat and in prime condition all these years, surely the British can keep one that is in dry dock. If it wasn't for this ship and this Admiral there wouldn't be a Great Britain there would be a Greater France and then you wouldn't have to concern yourself with such matters. Run a Telephon for God's sake. Don't expect the government to do it, you are British, stand up and fight for your heritage, instead of blaming everyone else. It is your ship not the governments.

[Mike S]

More strength to your argument sir. The greatest problem these days is "The government should do something about it." Have a look at the enthusiasts that built a brand new A1 Peppercorn main line steam loco from scratch. OK so that money is a lot less but they did it and they are running the thing all over the UK.
If you guys want to keep possibly the greatest monument to your once greatness then get off your collective derriers and DO something your selves. Get out there and do something to raise the money and use vollies to do the hard yakka and DO IT!
Too much sitting around and not enough doing. Too many chair polishers and not enough people willing to get their hands dirty.
Either that or sell the poor old girl off in bits and make a "profit"
What happend to the spirit that brought the Great Britain home and put her back in her dock and rebuilt her?
Happy New Year..........

[Satanic Mechanic]

We could wait and see what the plan is first but looking at it and reading about it I would make a guess one of the biggest problems is that given its shape - just look at the tumblehome on it and the fact that unlike the Constitution it is out of the water - it is going to be a complete bugger to support properly and the stress of being out of the water combined with its age means the knees are way overstressed - could well be that in our attempts to preserve her we have inadvertently caused her damage!!!!!

By and by - the need for maintenance is well known and not some sort of secret as made out by the Telegraph. I suspect some skullduggery by interested parties because the work has been put out to private tender with a requirement to use authentic methods and materials as far as possible - be on the look out for words such as 'civilians contractors' and 'Retired Admiral Triple-Barrel-Name'

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

I think that the best plan would be to put the ship indoors. Anyone who owns a wooden boat a tiny fraction of VICTORY's size knows that it is rain water that causes all the trouble.

Roof over the dry dock.

As regards her national importance - second to none!

[RobertTaylor]

Hi contributors, I agree that to roof her would be the best alternative. Keep the snow off and torrential rain. There is never an end to restoration of artifacts and it is never cheap. A roof, akin to one of the old army huts or similar to those used on athletic stadiums. It could even be a glass roof. Whatever is needed, has to be done. "England expects that every man will do his duty" to quote the man himself.