Guard ships after the Dutch War shocks

Restoration-era naval administration linked royal dockyards by sea and river and subjected them to visits from officials and other powerful observers. The Dutch Wars then exposed the danger of possessing ships and infrastructure without the money and process to mobilize them in time. Keeping every warship in ordinary was no longer acceptable, so manned guard ships preserved a minimum readiness and gave officers paid peacetime experience. Samuel Pepys was empowered to make the system deliver. He tolerated profit and some corruption when contractors still supplied the required stores at the required quality. Failure brought parliamentary commissions or other forceful investigators, connecting administrative oversight directly to the fleet's ability to sail.