Prize money as a naval incentive

Prize money gave eighteenth-century Royal Navy crews a direct material reason to capture enemy warships. British sailors were paid more regularly and fed better than the French crews described earlier, while a successful capture could change the lives of officers and men. Frigates offered frequent chances to take prizes, while ships of the line usually had to wait for a major fleet action. After a capture, sailors had an incentive to repair the prize as carefully as their own vessel because its condition determined the value paid when it reached port.