If the American Revolution failed, would colonial yards build warships and would the six-frigate designs still exist?
Short answerThe yards would likely build Royal Navy third rates and frigates, making the independent six-frigate program much less likely.
NotesNorth American yards would likely enter Royal Navy production and build established third-rate and fifth-rate patterns. That work would give the yards a different technical and institutional path from the independent United States Navy. The famous six-frigate design program might therefore never arise, because the same industrial base would already be producing ships of the line and conventional frigates for Britain.