Hal wrote:
In 1784, a British 98 gun ship of the line extracted 200 roundballs from its hull after the battle of the Glorious First of June, and was ready for battle a fortnight later. These ships could take a major pounding and still remain afloat.
The steam sloop I posted today would have no chance to sink a ship of the line with roundshot, even if the enemy inexplicably stood still and didn't fight back. Things look different with explosive shells. I listed them as LE rather than SAPLE so they won't be good at penetrating, but they'll set wooden hulls on fire. SAPLE would take approx. ten hits to bring a ship of the line to zero HP, with a decent chance to have do 10% of HP in a single hit. That would leave the ship burning AND sinking. Unless the SAPLE penetrates both sides of the ship before exploding -- 3E has no rules for firing a reduced charge.
Her sailing rig is clearly auxiliary. Technically a Brigantine rig because she has only two masts, and less than two thirds of the maximum allowed sail area for her (already short) masts. Nevertheless she is faster under sail than steam with a Beaufort 5 fresh breeze. That's in part due to the fine lines.
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