What would the world's navies look like if boiler and steam engines had never gone to sea?
Short answerIf land-based steam development continued, fleets would remain closer to late-Napoleonic practice until powerful internal-combustion engines appeared. Reduced naval demand would probably delay that machinery.
NotesIf land-based steam engines still developed normally, removing marine steam would leave fleets close to late-Napoleonic sailing practice until reliable high-power internal-combustion engines became available. Those engines could then permit a jump towards dreadnought-era warships. Their arrival would probably be delayed because navies funded many of the engineering firms and systems that developed powerful machinery. Losing that source of industrial demand changes when a replacement engine becomes practical.