Pepys's system rated a ship through its pierced gun count and its tons burthen so administrators could approximate long-term cost. The nominal crew scale was seven men for a 42-pounder, five for a 32-pounder, and four for an 18-pounder. Those numbers covered a fully worked broadside rather than every task aboard, so additional sailors still handled sails, the opposite battery, and boarding parties. The resulting crew estimate drove forecasts for pay, allowances, food, clothing, and other consumable stores. Ratings were budget instruments grounded in standardized assumptions rather than exact inventories of a particular commission.
Notable Point · 47:02-48:16
The rating system as budget control
Gun size, crew allocations, tonnage, pay, food, clothing, and stores turned ratings into long-term cost estimates.