As I understood, you want to show the ship in a historical or technical correct situation.....
....the very positive thing is, that every situation could have been possible in the harbour
Take a look at this contemporary painting:
View attachment 66818
A composite picture showing five of the ships in which Nelson served as a captain and flag officer from the start of the French Wars in 1793 to his death in 1805. The artist has
depicted them drying sails in a calm at Spithead, Portsmouth, and despite the traditional title, two of them were not strictly flagships. The ship on the left in bow view is the 'Agamemnon', 64 guns. It was Nelson's favourite ship, which he commanded as a captain from 1793. Broadside on is the 'Vanguard', 74 guns, his flagship at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 flying a white ensign and his blue flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue at the mizzen. Stern on is the 'Elephant', 74 guns, his temporary flagship at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. She is flying the blue ensign from the stern and Nelson's flag as Vice-Admiral of the Blue at her foremast. In the centre distance is the 'Captain', 74 guns, in which Nelson flew a commodore's broad pendant at the Battle of St Vincent, 1797. Dominating the right foreground is the 'Victory', 100 guns, shown in her original state, with open stern galleries, and not as she was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She is shown at anchor flying the flag of Vice-Admiral of the White, Nelson's Trafalgar rank, and
firing a salute to starboard as an admiral's barge is rowed alongside, amidst other small craft. The painting is one of a series of six paintings created for a two-volume 'Life of Nelson', begun shortly after Nelson's death in 1805 by Clarke and McArthur and published in 1809. They were engraved by James Fittler and reproduced in the biography with lengthy explanatory texts. The artist placed considerable importance on accuracy, referring to his annotated drawings and sketch plans in the production of his oil paintings. Pocock was born and brought up in Bristol, went to sea at the age of 17 and rose to command several merchant ships. Although he only took up painting as a profession in his early forties, he became extremely successful, receiving commissions from naval commanders anxious to have accurate portrayals of actions and ships. By the age of 80, Pocock had recorded nearly 40 years of maritime history, demonstrating a meticulous understanding of shipping and rigging with close attention to detail.
Means here we have the ships with drying sails, so partly installed, also partly with guns out for firing a salute
or another one:
View attachment 66819
The 'Victory' is shown centre foreground, in port broadside view, under full sail. She flies the red ensign and the flag of Vice-Admiral of the Red, and the three-decker first-rate astern of her to the right is probably the
'Queen Charlotte'. It is not clear what event is being commemorated, but in the background the ships at anchor are arranged in lines, while in the foreground, the ships under sail appear to be part of a procession. This may be an interpretation of the Royal Review of the Grand Fleet at Spithead on 1 July 1791, when 'The Times' records that 'the Duke of Gloucester preceded by Lord Hood in his barge went out to Spithead'. They entered the two lines at the east end, going round the 'Magnificent' and were rowed down to the 'Victory', the yards and tops of the fleet being manned and the marines drawn up. On their coming aboard the Commander-in-Chief, the standard was hoisted at the maintop, when there was a royal salute from the whole fleet. They went afterwards on board the 'Hannibal'. The ships in the background are portrayed firing a salute. That said, the picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1792 as 'His Majesty's ship 'Victory' sailing from Spithead with a division from a grand fleet'. This suggests the alternative possibility that it derived from the brief scare called 'the Russian armament' in 1790 when the fleet mobilized but was quickly stood down. The picture, engraved by Dodd, was also published by T. Simpson as a large print and under its exhibited title on 21 August 1792 (see PAJ2246). The same plate was reissued by John P.Thompson on 1 January 1806 (PAH6248). This time, however, there was a new title - 'His Majesty's Ship Victory under Sail from Portsmouth to the Downs with the Corpse of the Immortal Nelson' - a good example of opportunist recycling of an earlier image to capitalize on a much later event (11 December 1805). In this second printing the Union flags were not updated to the post-1801pattern, which suggests that Dodd may not have been involved in the reissue. Spithead is the sheet of water between the north-eastern shore of the Isle of Wight and the English mainland. It forms a deep, sheltered channel leading into Portsmouth Harbour and provides the main Naval anchorage outside the harbour for assembling fleets to sail, or for reviews. Dodd was an English marine painter, engraver and ship portraitist who was a prolific recorder of naval actions in the American and French Revolutionary Wars. The painting is signed by the artist and dated 'R.Dodd 1791' on the stern of the boat in the foreground.
Also here the ships are shown with only some sails installed some without
I think you should think about, what you like and prefer most and prepare your model according your feeling how you want to present the model.