How could a navy turn landsmen into capable sailors?

What training system could produce good sailors and captains?

A navy could train landsmen quickly when it preserved a strong core of experienced sailors to teach and supervise them.

The British system during the Napoleonic Wars provides a model that could absorb large numbers of landsmen. Its effectiveness depended on retaining a strong cadre of competent sailors who knew the ship and could teach others. That experienced core allowed complicated seamanship to be learned relatively quickly in working conditions. Losing veteran officers and seamen therefore damages present strength and a fleet's capacity to expand.