HMS Victory, the flagship of Norfolk's most famous son, is in urgent need of repair.
The ship, which carried Admiral Lord Nelson to triumph in the Battle of Trafalgar, and bore his body back to England afterwards, is collapsing and rotting.
A highly-complex laser scanning exercise carried out on the ship, which is in dry dock in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, has revealed that she is slowly imploding because she is inadequately supported.
Only 22 points of contact hold Victory in her cradle, and the pressure is causing her decks to move closer to her keel, forcing the hull to bulge. The movement is also allowing rainwater to seep in the upper decks and rot planking in Victory, which celebrates her 250th anniversary in May.
'She is falling in on herself at the rate of about 4mm each year,' said Andrew Baines, curator and project director of HMS Victory.
Designs are now being drawn up to create a cradle with some 140 points of support for the ship.
These run alongside plans to stabilise and stop her movement, replace planking installed in the past 40 years, and re-instate her rigging and top two masts whose weight was making the problem worse.
Outline plans are expected to be ready this spring and the work will take about 15 years. Mr Baines said that, at a very rough estimate, the project would cost about £35m-£40m and an announcement would be made later in the year about any funding appeal to which Norfolk people could contribute.
'If nothing was done then she would continue to get very wet,' said Mr Baines.
'There would be a loss of significant material, the gun decks and beam ends would decay, her collapse would be quicker and, ultimately it would be catastrophic. However, we are confident that she's strong and that we can stop this happening and we are not running around in a panic.
'We want to take our time and get it right, protecting what is important about Victory and making sure she's there for the next 250 years.'
The ship would be kept in the open air, unlike the nearby Tudor flagship Mary Rose, which is housed indoors.
Dick Shepherd, chairman of The North Norfolk Trafalgar Association, which celebrates the area's naval heritage, said he hoped Norfolk would rally to support any funding appeal.
'I would be the first to put my hand in my pocket,' said Mr Shepherd, who served with the Royal Navy for 24 years. 'Victory is a huge figurehead for this country and she is recognised worldwide – she's almost sacred.
'Nelson and the other admirals changed the entire face of Europe for centuries. Victory is so important.'
Portsmouth-born Rev Graham Hitchins, rector of Burnham Thorpe, where Nelson was born, said Victory was unique.
'I'm biased of course, but if we were to hark back to a time when we were the world's major influence on culture, trade and jurisprudence then the central figure in that wasn't parliament, but what made it possible – superiority at sea, through ships like Victory,' Mr Hitchins added.
Originally made of oak, Victory cost £65,000 to build. In March 2012 she became the responsibility of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Last year she was visited by 410,000 people.
Are you involved with a major conservation project? Contact alex.hurrell@archant.co.uk
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