Finally got some first-rates into play!

I had Montaigne (beautiful ship!) and Redoubtable against HMS Royal George and HMS Defiance. I used the solo rules to direct the British ships, which were deployed to try to break my line.

The battle went strongly in my favor. The AI, naturally, doesn't have any notion of coordination. Royal George charged right in, while Defiance nibbled at the edges. Early on Royal George took a wicked rake from Montaigne, and then heavy fire from Redoubtable while Montaigne also took a potshot once in a while. The first rake essentially ruined Royal George, dealing 11 A chits and a rough draw which included a fire, a leak and a mast down. She battled a good long while anyway, consuming at least 60 chits worth of damage, mostly at A range but a good bit of B too. But she was so slow she couldn't close the distance, and Redoubtable continued to chip away. Finally the British flagship was left in the sorry state of leaking with one hull box and one available action (plus 2 masts down)--all she could do was limp forward, pump and wait to die.

Montaigne, still mostly undamaged, ponderously tacked and eventually closed with Defiance. They traded shots, which was not really in Defiance's favor. Finally Defiance ended up caught between a full broadside from Montaigne and a rake from the returning Redoubtable. 16 A chits turned a fairly serviceable SOL into a hulk with no crew, two hull boxes and FOUR leaks. That was that.

It was an odd battle since crew damage was not a big factor (at least until that final shot), no musketry was fired (let alone boarding), and much of the gunfire was A range.

These ships can take a lot of damage, but they also deal a lot, and they are still susceptible to special damage hits falling in clusters. The "straight at 'em" Nelsonian tactics sure didn't work well for Royal George...

Lopsided but fun. They all looked great together on the board!