Readiness was more than the number of ships

Nominal fleet strength included ships without crews or the readiness to sail, so commission figures provide a more useful comparison. British numbers rose sharply between 1794 and 1814, including an enormous expansion in smaller cruisers and unrated vessels needed to support a worldwide war. HMS Victory illustrates the system by moving from Mediterranean duty through the West Indies and Channel, receiving repairs at Plymouth, and returning promptly to blockade Cadiz. British crews were often smaller but contained a higher density of experienced sailors who could exploit that material support. Readiness therefore depended on dockyards, victualling, maintenance, trained people, and regeneration speed rather than the number of hulls recorded on paper.