My first encounter with HMS Victory dates back many decades.

I was six years old when I first came across her—not in a museum, nor in a history book, but as the highest-ranking card in a naval quartet game that we played enthusiastically during our school breaks. To me she was simply the strongest ship in the pack. Naturally, I could never have imagined that this particular vessel would one day become the subject of such enduring interest.

The great wooden warships of the Age of Sail have always held a particular fascination for me. To my mind, HMS Victory represents the culmination of their development. As one of the most distinguished First Rates of the Royal Navy, she combines elegant lines, well-balanced proportions and the very highest standards of eighteenth-century naval architecture. She may justly be regarded as the masterpiece of her designer, Sir Thomas Slade.

Many years later, when I decided to build a historical ship model, there was never any doubt which vessel I would choose. It could only be HMS Victory. After completing two plastic kits from different manufacturers, I eventually turned to a wooden kit. Once the hull had been completed, however, it became clear that the result fell short of my own expectations of historical accuracy.

It would undoubtedly have made an attractive model. But that was never my objective. I did not simply wish to reproduce HMS Victory; I wanted to understand the original ship.

My aim was therefore to reconstruct HMS Victory as faithfully as possible on the basis of the surviving contemporary sources of the Royal Navy. This required the study of historical documents, numerous calculations, the preparation of working drawings at the drawing board, the design of specialised jigs and construction aids, and only then the commencement of the actual build.

The reconstruction presented here is based upon surviving Royal Navy specifications, publications issued by HMSO, together with the principal plans and standard reference works. Among the most important are:

• John McKay – The 100-Gun Ship Victory
• James Lees – The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, 1625–1860
• Brian Lavery – The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, 1600–1815
• Peter Goodwin – The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War, 1650–1850
• Arthur Bugler – H.M.S. Victory: Building, Restoration and Repair (HMSO, 1966)

As so often happens, the project gradually developed far beyond its original scope. The more deeply I immersed myself in the study of HMS Victory, the more questions arose. Every answer led to new discoveries and opened further insights into the shipbuilding practice and craftsmanship of the eighteenth century. What began as a model-building project gradually evolved into an extensive study of naval history, construction and traditional craftsmanship.

The research, observations and selected results of this work are presented on this website. It offers an insight into the project itself, while also exploring the historical background, individual stages of construction and a number of the technical solutions that emerged during the course of the reconstruction.

Like the project itself, this website continues to grow. With each new discovery and every further stage of construction, it is revised and expanded.

It is my hope that it may also convey something of the fascination that HMS Victory has held for me for so many years.