Boudriot explains that the 74-gun ship was the "perfect" compromise between firepower and maneuverability:
Jean Boudriot's (originally Le Vaisseau de 74 canons ) is considered the definitive work on 18th-century naval architecture. This monumental four-volume set details every aspect of a French "74" from approximately 1780—the "pinnacle" of French naval design during the American War of Independence. ⚓ The Four Volumes The Seventy-Four Gun Ship: A Practical Treatise...
It required 2,800 hundred-year-old oak trees and 600 tons of iron and wood bolts. Boudriot explains that the 74-gun ship was the
The lower gundeck carried 36-pounder guns , each weighing 4 tons. the training of architects
– Covers the dockyard, the training of architects, and the structural design of the hull.
– Details internal arrangements, ballast, stowage, and the warrant-officers' stores.