Sané's 74 and the Royal Navy's adaptation

French designers lengthened two-deck ships and armed their lower decks heavily enough to challenge larger three-deckers. The thick, carefully shaped timbers needed to support those guns also made a 74 expensive despite its having only two decks. Jacques-Noël Sané designed the Téméraire class and helped establish the French image of the naval architect as a visionary. Captured French ships became starting points for British adaptations: wider beams improved stability, while altered stores and rigging suited smaller crews. In an illustrative calculation, reducing each crew from 600 to 500 would let the same manpower operate six ships instead of five. Britain's separation from continental wars and epidemics could sometimes increase the number of adults available for naval service relative to its continental rivals, even when its total population was smaller. Spain's emphasis on boarding and amphibious warfare gave it less reason to adopt English galleon designs, whereas the French 74 suited British requirements.