ABSTRACT
The condition of the fleet has always been a major concern of British statesmen. Since the great object of the peacetime years was to repair the damage suffered by the fleets in the war, the appropriate head of Extra was unusually high. Elements of the Extra estimate likewise rose with the peace when the dockyards started the extensive repairs when the ships came home. The need for a comprehensive programme of building and repairs after 1783 was not doubted within the navy office, nor was the point of concentration. It is difficult to assess properly the effectiveness of all the repairs, or even to sift from the estimates the extent of a ship's defects, or its condition for battle at the end of the repair. An examination of the individual repair estimates for 1784 with the eventual spending is of interest as showing that while there were great fluctuations from ship to ship they tended to cancel one another.
