Hoche's awkward appearance is separate from the argument over her usefulness. Fleet defends her as adequate for French needs and resources at the time, while the opposing assessment stresses reports of violent motion and poor seakeeping. His defence is a limited claim of usefulness and leaves the criticism of her sailing qualities intact. HMS Captain supplies a different example: a ship judged terrible despite a less objectionable appearance. The three Marceau-class half-sisters are credited with developing Hoche's broad design approach into more successful ships.
Notable Point · 1:45:24-1:47:06
Hoche's seakeeping and the Marceau-class development
Hoche's adequacy remains disputed because of her poor seakeeping, while the Marceau half-sisters receive credit for developing the same broad design approach more successfully.