What limited severe punishment aboard Royal Navy ships?

What limited severe corporal punishment aboard a Royal Navy ship?

Captains could commute unserved lashes, surgeons could stop a punishment, and trained sailors were too valuable to waste; officers also depended on much larger crews.

Shipboard punishment was intended to restore discipline while retaining a sailor's service. A captain could commute the unserved portion of a sentence, and a surgeon could stop a flogging when continuing became medically unsafe. Keel-hauling was a poor practical choice because it could kill the sailor and damage the hull or rudder. Officers also depended on the cooperation of crews who greatly outnumbered them, placing another practical limit on arbitrary punishment.