The Seventy-four Gun Ship: A Practical Treatise... -
– Covers the dockyard, the training of architects, and the structural design of the hull.
Boudriot explains that the 74-gun ship was the "perfect" compromise between firepower and maneuverability: The Seventy-Four Gun Ship: A Practical Treatise...
– Explains the complex system of spars and sail plans. – Covers the dockyard, the training of architects,
It required 2,800 hundred-year-old oak trees and 600 tons of iron and wood bolts. In a fair breeze, the ship could exceed ten knots
In a fair breeze, the ship could exceed ten knots . 🛠️ Excerpt: The Philosophy of the 74
"I believe that the art of naval architecture in France reached its pinnacle at the time of the American War of Independence... thus I have chosen as my subject a 74, such as were to be found in the French fleet around 1780." — Jean Boudriot
The work is famed for its and detailed sketches of human figures, which provide a clear sense of scale for how a gun crew or seaman's mess functioned.