The official start of the building of the model of the Victory with the laying of the keel.
The original Victory keel was laid on July 23 1759, and it took almost 10 years and just under $1 billion in today’s money to complete the ship. I will try to do it in less time and for much less money.
The Victory is famous because it was the Flag Ship of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. This was a significant victory because it eliminated the threat of Napoleon invading England. As significant as the Battle of Britain in 1940. The fact that Nelson died on the deck of the Victory gave the ship such prestige that Britain spent a fortune over the next 200 years to maintain it as a monument. It is still the best ship museum that I have ever visited.
By 1805 it was already a very old ship, particularly as it was made out of wood and not the biggest battleship in the fleet. As ancient as the First World War battleships in WWII. But it had unique sailing properties for a triple decker in that it was fast for its size so could keep up with the smaller ships in a fleet, as a result it was a favourite flag ship with the admirals of the time. These days it is a popular project for model shipwrights as it is so well documented. A typical kit cost $800 but I will be scratch building this one.
I have wanted to make this model for 30 years but waited until I thought my skills were adequate. I thank Andra and Sean for commissioning it. My blog will have updates over the years as this project progresses .
December 9, 2011
rbellis11
Views From Paradise 
3 responses to “Victory Keel Laying”
Janine
December 10th, 2011 at 16:11
Did you get the plans from that guy?
rbellis11
December 10th, 2011 at 16:27
I obtained detailed plans from John McKay. I have the book he wrote (part of the anatomy of ship series published in England) that was issued in 1984. It has gone through several reprints and the version I have is from the mid 90s. In the book he included all the drawings and plans (about 60 in number) of the Victory but the scale in the book is too small and the printing quality of the drawings is poor. He originally drew them on 4 foot sheets and they were shrunk down to fit a 10 inch book and I think as the book is reprinted the quality declines. The book is considered one of the essential sources for someone building the Victory that is not from a kit. (I also have a book published in 1950s that is the other source)
I had read from websites about guys that bought the McKay book and cut out the drawings and blew them up but were disappointed by the blown up quality of the lines.
I found out that John McKay is still alive and retired in Langley BC so I contacted him directly and he still sells copies of his original plans. Sad to think that this is a cottage industry and when he is gone who knows what happens to the plans.
Anyway I ordered 30 of the drawings from him (mostly the hull and framing detail) each 3 feet by 2 feet and in the scale that I will use for construction I did not need originals of the other drawings since they are the type of infomation (details of guns and rigging) that I know already or I do not need in scale. John went immediately to a print shop to make me copies and mailed them and I received them in a week. Given that he originally drew these (and they are in meticulous detail) in the early 80s I figure he must be ancient.
Janine Miletic
December 13th, 2011 at 04:16
Nice! I am sure that brightened his day a little.