He was probably apprenticed as a shipwright around 1677. He was appointed a master mastmaker and boat-builder at
Plymouth Dockyard by the Royal Navy in November 1695. In 1698 he transferred briefly to
Kinsale where he launched
HMS Kinsale at Cork Docks in Ireland. He then worked for a few months at
Sheerness Dockyard in 1705 before being appointed Master Shipwright at
Woolwich Dockyard in November 1705. He was personally responsible for designing the
Flamborough class of ship in 1706. In 1708/9 he designed
HMS Delight (1709) in Woolwich but this was completed by
Jacob Ackworth as in August 1709 Stacey was appointed master shipwright at
Portsmouth Dockyard one of the most important in Britain and created a large number of vessels there. In July 1715 he moved to be Master of
Deptford Dockyard the most important in Britain at that time. In 1721 he designed the Cruizer class ship and in 1725 the sloop HMS Happy. His Royal warrant to design and build ships was renewed in 1727. In 1731 he designed HMS Wolf and in 1732 HMS Hound. He died on 16 June 1743. He is buried in the floor of the nave of St John the Baptist church in
Sutton-at-Hone near
Dartford in Kent. ==Ships built==