I thought the Brits were out to sink and the French wanted to capture intact vessels.
Not really - the British also captured a lot of French ships. There are lists on this page - they’re presented war by war rather than all together.
I was reading that wiki article on tacking and learned something new. I learned what “I like the cut of your jib” means. I mean, I knew it meant some kind of sailing term, but that’s all. It means, literally, “I like the way we are moving fast in the water because you put the sails in a good position for it in relation to the wind” but that doesn’t have the same kind of panache.
Sailing technology and techniques have already been covered well here. The one question that hasn’t been answered is: how were the ships prevented from running into the dock/pier? They let down their sails to slow down.
In all of the books I’ve read covering the age of sail, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a single instance of a warship being tied up alongside a pier. In every case while in harbor ships anchored out in the anchorage away from shore. All personnel and stores came to the ship via smaller rowed craft. I imagine this is because it is such a pain the ass to get it alongside the pier. Also, it was probably a lot harder to get underway from a pier as well. The ship would need to warped away using rowboats.
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Not to believe Mythbusters is an authority on naval history but they did try to replicate lethal wooden splinters in sea battles on the show and could not make it happen. The built a replicate of a ship’s hull and fired a real canon at the target, they got a lot of splinters but none would be considered lethal. The canon was a civil war replica, perhaps it was not as large as the naval guns being discussed in the thread. I questioned their results because everything I have read about naval warfare in the age of sail notes just how dangerous the flying splinters were.
They used a piece of field artillery, so I’m not sure about the results. For one thing IIRC it was a 6 lb cannon (maybe an 8), so that would be small for a large ship (though about right for a merchantman I suppose). That said, it would have had a higher muzzle velocity since it was Civil War era, instead of the earlier cannon used more during earlier eras.
A cannon with a larger shot probably would have thrown out more lethal splinters (larger at least), since it would have had more kinetic energy (they also needed to bring the range down, since a lot of the fighting took place at point blank range, at least in the novels I read). Maybe this will be one of the myths they revisit in the future if enough historical buffs convince them that their tests weren’t representative.
-XT
They did paint the gun deck red for some reason. 
Yup, naval guns circa 1800 were 6 and 12 pounders on frigates, 24 and 32 pounders on ships of the line - inconveniently large in the latter cases for field use. Some line-of-battle ships carried carronades which delivered still heavier loads - 68lb shot on the Victory - hence the nickname “Smasher”. So I don’t think Mythbusters’ results should be considered canon.
Ouch!
The original 6 frigates of the American navy carried 44 24 pounders and caused the British to initially cry foul. They were heavy enough to destroy any frigate of the RN yet fast enough to out run a 74.
One thing to thing about. Napoleon ran roughshod over all of Europe with about 180 12 pounders. Here is a list of RN ships and number of cannon.
Hey, you don’t get a set-up of that calibre every day.
I answered that, actually If they needed to get close to the pier (or to be beached for cleaning the hull) they would be towed or warped (moved using anchors) in, otherwise they would lay at anchor and be served by barges.
no jury would convict me…
I beg to differ.
Perhaps I should have added, “If he was prepared”. In any case, a senseless loss due to hubris.
So now the fledgling US Navy was officered by Bloody Batmen? Come, Sir! My seconds shall call upon you in the morning!
Chesapeake, from the link, doesn’t seem to have been one of the “heavy frigates” but a 36-gun ship of an older design and presumably with the usual 12 and 6 pounder armament. In a fair fight, you’d expect the seasoned Brits to kick American ass.
It happens multiple times in the Aubrey/Maturin books. Frigates and smaller only though - I don’t recall anything bigger than a 50 tied up at a pier. And it was always in protected harbors, and yes, you’d have to warp or kedge your way away from the pier if the wind was wrong. It had the supreme advantage of being a lot faster to load or unload the ship.
Examples:
The corvette Fanciulla in “Post Captain” is at pierside before the Polychrests board and take her.
The frigate Diane in “The Letter of Marque” is at pierside before the Surprises board and take her.
In “The Nutmeg of Consolation”, the Surprise is tied to a pier at Sydney Harbor until a squad of soldiers under a disagreeable officer demand to search the ship for escaped convicts. The mid on watch refuses, and offers to blow out the brains of the first soldier to step on the gangplank. To prevent further problems, Tom moves the barky out to the middle of the harbor, so access is only by boat.
I’ll deal with you after Uncle.
Brick Bats at half a mile!