Launched in 1765,
Victory survives today because of the care
her owners have taken to preserve this “first rate ship of
100 guns . . . the ultimate design of warship both in
size, firepower and technology.” (8) More than two
centuries later, she remains a commissioned ship in the
British Royal Navy.
After the author’s
introduction, Goodwin divides his text into eight
sections:
- “The Victory
Story” covers her design, the timber used, her
construction, and the launch.
- “HMS Victory
at War” focuses on her operational career, the Battle
of Trafalgar in 1805, and what happened to her after
the Napoleonic Wars ended.
- “Anatomy of the Victory” discusses her decks, spars,
rigging and blocks, sails and storage, steering,
anchors and ground tackle, and boats
- “Victory’s
Guns”
is an in-depth examination of her firepower, technical
data about her guns, side arms and gunnery equipment,
firing the guns and gun drills, the ropes associated
with these weapons, gunpowder, and the gunners’
stores.
- “General Maintenance
and Refitting” looks at her hull (from sea maintenance
to dockyard refits to painting), the maintenance of
her parts and weapons, making repairs after sustaining
damage during action, maintaining her equipment
(capstan and pump), and the portable forge used to
make some of the repairs.
- “Sailing the Victory” scrutinizes ship handling, her
sails, tacking and wearing, heaving to, getting under
sail, anchoring, loading stores and equipment,
hoisting in and getting out her boats, and how she
sailed.
- “Manning the Victory” summarizes her crew
complement, organization, daily routine and watches,
command, and seamen and life on the lower deck.
- The final section
centers on “Conserving and Restoring HMS Victory.”
It opens with problems encountered, and then revisits
original construction techniques, dockyard facilities,
and tools, before examining how replacement parts are
fabricated and looking at this warship from the
perspective of her shipwright in the past and today.
A plethora of beautiful,
full-color photographs and paintings illustrate the book,
from full-length views from a distance to up-close images
of the particular sections or parts under discussion in
the various sections. Each includes a clear description as
to what the reader is viewing. In addition to these
illustrations, Goodwin peppers the volume with quotes from
primary source material, either within the text or in
highlighted in boxes. One of the neat aspects about these
is that the close-ups give readers a feel for her size
and, as a bonus, allow them to venture into parts of the
vessel where visitors aren’t permitted. Schematics show
draft designs and how parts fit together. The cutaway view
that depicts Victory’s interior has nice
detail. The only drawback is some of that is lost because
of where the pages join the spine. Luckily, only number 7
is hidden from view.
The book closes with three
appendices: a) Glossary of Terms, b) Essential dimensions,
weights, etc. for HMS Victory; and c)
Visitor information. The list of sources and suggested
articles to read encompasses primary and secondary
sources, as well as articles that have appeared in The Mariner’s Mirror, the journal of The
Society for Nautical Research. There is also an index,
which allows readers to access specific information, while
the table of contents includes page numbers for each
subdivision of the various sections.
As the first Keeper and
Curator of HMS Victory, a post held for
more than a decade, Peter Goodwin is eminently qualified
and experienced to speak on this topic. His interest in
18th-century ship construction started in childhood, and
he has served as a historical advisor for Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World and the
Horatio Hornblower movies for television. One of the
square-rigged ships on which Goodwin sailed as a topman
was HMB Endeavour, a replica of the bark
Captain Cook sailed to Australia.
When I pulled this title from
my shelf to read, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. My
initial reaction after opening the cover and perusing the
introduction was WOW! Goodwin writes this manual without
being overly technical, so lay persons unfamiliar with
nautical jargon can easily follow the content. The text,
however, never talks down to the reader, so those with
knowledge of sailing ships or sailors themselves will find
this equally absorbing. The author also incorporates
wonderful details that make this a writer’s dream
resource. And the wonderful photographs allow those of us
unable to visit Victory to marvel at her
magnificence and power.
Don’t let the utilitarian
cover art fool you. It’s perfect for the book’s purpose –
an owner’s manual. But the exterior merely camouflages a
priceless, but exceedingly economical, treasure. While I
occasionally give five stars to exceptional books, HMS Victory Owners’ Workshop
Manual far exceeds that rating.
Review Copyrighted ©2012 Cindy Vallar
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