Tycho,
I think it depends on what you call 'original'. Ships by their nature have to be kept seaworthy or, as in the Victory's present case, preserved - which means replacing defective timbers when required. There has been an ongoing restoration of the Victory's fabric over the years even since she has been in dry dock, a situation which will naturally continue, although modern methods, materials and techniques are used in order to cut down on the maintainance. This is all overseen by the Victory Advisory Technical Committee, set up in 1922.
Thus, if you mean 'original' in the sense of various timbers, etc., having been part of the Victory when Nelson knew her, or at Trafalgar, then actually very little survives from that time - I think somewhere in the region of only 10% - 20%. I have the figures somewhere, and details of the actual structures, but can't at the moment find them. The largest intact structure from Nelson's period and before is the lower gundeck, which I believe was the original upper deck, with certain other timbers throughout the ship being from that time. A significant proportion of the port side of the hull was renewed in 1903 when she was rammed by the contemporary HMS Orion, which broke free from her tow, and the Victory had to be dry docked before she sank. Again in 1941 a portion of her keel and lower hull received similar treatment after a bomb exploded underneath her in the dock. Similarly with the masts and yards which are all well post Trafalgar. In actual fact the lower masts were originally replaced with the iron ones from HMS Shah in the 1880's, but given a timber appearance.
Naturally the amounts of money spent on the Victory's restoration has varied over the years, depending on its availability. There is also the fact that earlier techniques that had been employed have actually been found to have caused problems before they were recognised as such and more modern practices introduced. Then there is the dreaded Death Watch beetle, first recognised around 1932, which has eaten into various timbers and is being kept under surveillance. With the large renovation just completed this appears to have retreated somewhat. Thus the preservation of Victory is an ongoing process and methods are constantly being evaluated and new ones tried.
It is perhaps sad that all the souvenirs and pieces of the Victory that are sold don't come from Nelson's era - I know I was a little disillusioned when I found out my Victory cannon, brought home when I was twelve, wasn't and presumably many others are too - but it is still part of the Victory in the sense of its having been part of her structure at some time and thus connected to the original ship by association.
_________________ Kester.
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