First rates attracted the cost and attention needed for major reconstruction. A great rebuild might reuse selected timbers and the ship's name while producing a substantially different hull form and fighting capability. The Navy used this accepted practice to preserve an asset, its identity, and parliamentary authorization while adapting it to new requirements. Historical identity rested on continuity of name, material, and administration even when the physical object changed extensively.
Notable Point · 41:41-46:10
Great rebuilds blur the identity of a wooden ship
Wooden warships could be dismantled, reshaped, and reconstructed so extensively that continuity of identity became partly administrative.