Spanish ships/ship building

[dilloncastillo1]

I was curious because i have been trying to do some research on how well spanish ships were built and how they performed compared to their British and French ships. I know theres argument over French vs British shipbuilding but i rarely ever hear anything about the spanish ships? In particular their frigates and how they performed in battle. Please let me know if any of you have any interesting information or just something to add

[Bowser74]

Spanish shipbuilding wasn't that much different from any other nations. It was the crews that sailed the ships that determined who won and who lost.

[HooDooMan]

There were definite distinctions in shipbuilding priorities among all the major navies during the period. The Spanish navy was no different in that regard. However, there seems to have been such a large disparity in crew and officer quality that the differences in ship design were unable to alter the outcome of any battles during the era.

I am not an expert in the topic. I've read a bit on the topic but I can not vouch for the accuracy of what I have read.

I will relate to you a couple of observations that I think are significant/interesting to note and I'll provide links to some of the stuff I have read so that you can make your own judgment

At Trafalgar the Spanish seemed to prefer the use of 18 pounders in situations were other navies used 24 pounders.

Reload time for British gun crews at Trafalgar is reported to be 90 seconds vs 4-5 min for french and Spanish gun crews. That much of a disparity seems a bit implausible but then the Agamemnon was reported to have pounded the much larger Santísima Trinidad into surrender. In most of the analysis that I have read it was British crew quality that provided the edge over its opponents in battle.

The evolution of British ship design in the 18th century seem to be directly influenced by the prizes captured in action. How the British navy processed a prize seems to give at least some indication of the condition of the ship and the validity of the design. Unsound ships were scrapped, water tight vessels were pressed into service as barracks or prisons, good vessels were put into service in the navy, good ship designs had at least some aspect copied and used in British ship design, and the best designs were copied and adapted for the royal navy's use.

Spanish ship design was heavily influenced by the french following the Spanish war of succession. Many of the naval architects working in Spanish shipyards were formerly employed by the French or had been educated at French academies.

https://ageofsail.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/french-frigates-confessedly-weaker-are-oftener-in-port/

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?267288-British-vs-French-Shipbuilding

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Why_did_the_British_defeat_the_Combined_Fleet,_despite_the_Combined_Fleets_superior_numbers

https://books.google.com/books?id=0adWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR8-IA8&lpg=PR8-IA8&dq=comparison+of+french+english+Spanish+sailing+frigates&source=bl&ots=MRvwvCYBu9&sig=a4OTuGIRc9ddXHBLQQeMCdmxIdc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja3KiD0PnPAhVS4GMKHQvoCZ0Q6AEIWzAM#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.academia.edu/5968995/British_Capture_of_Spanish_Ships_in_the_18th_Century

https://www.academia.edu/12488033/Speed_under_Sail_1750-1850

https://www.academia.edu/9816643/ANTH_610_-_Outfitting_and_Sailing_the_Wooden_Ship_1400-1900