What Spain needed to contest the Spanish-American War

How early would Spain need to build up to deter or win the Spanish-American War, with its nineteenth-century political instability unchanged?

Spain needed continuous investment from the early ironclad era, producing several modern capital ships plus adequately trained crews and supporting infrastructure by 1898.

Spain would need steady capital-ship orders from the ironclad era onward. Four ships comparable to Pelayo are proposed as enough to contest the blockade of Cuba, provided they arrived well before the war. More hulls would also require money for infrastructure, crew training, and gunnery practice. Spanish officers wanted to train their crews, but lacked funding for regular practice.