Some Surprising Numbers

Whereas the xebecs of the French Royal Navy had a crew complement of less than 300, the crew on the Barbaresque ships could number 400 to 500 men. Le Requin had an overall length of 119 feet, width of 31 feet, and depth of hold of 10 feet, 8 inches. Over a stem 22 feet high, the bowsprit juts out 29 feet. The mainmast had an impressive length of 120 feet and weighed 8000 pounds.

The ship carried 5 anchors weighing between 3750 and 1526 pounds and the largest cables measured 11.5 inches in circumference. The use of a capstan was not considered indispensable aboard that type of vessel and the anchors were heaved by sheer manpower or with a use of block and tackle.

Although this vessel was designed to be able to sustain a two-month campaign, a 1753 ledger shows stores of 18,000 liters of water and 6,300 liters of wine for 160 men for 45 days.

According to Mr de Fabry, at the time of departure the ship drew 7 feet 7 inches forward and 8 feet 8 inches at the stern.

Each of the 24 8-pounder guns weighed about 3,000 pounds.

The ship was capable of carrying 260 tons, 80 of it for ballast.

The ship's boat was 35 feet long and 8 and a half wide and carried 9 oars on each side.

In his campaign report to the Duc de Choiseul, Lieutenant Du Bourguet regrets that the age of the crew members often reached 40, 50, or even 60 years old.

As compared to the various spaces available on a 74-gun ship, it is easy to imagine the deplorable conditions of daily life for men piled up on a single deck for two months.

The xebec sails were made of a poorly understood cotton cloth with the most common configuration used (for the main and fore sails) being hemp warp and cotton weft. The weight was about 500 grams per square meter.