How the Navy Board managed ships and dockyards

The Admiralty directed the operating Navy while the Navy Board managed dockyards, infrastructure, and ships out of commission or 'in ordinary.' Craftsmen, pursers, and other personnel could remain with a vessel under dockyard employment and then become part of its naval crew when it recommissioned. Their pay and legal employer changed even when their physical workplace did not. Permanent dockyard employment offered accommodation and continuity that sea service could not. This administrative boundary also helps explain shipboard families and the presence of women and children aboard some sailing warships, including during battles.