Let the coast of Boulogne be the scene for action; suppose the British to have one hundred ships of 80 guns, or a force to that amount, equal eight thousand guns and sixty thousand men; this is a greater power than ever has been engaged in one action. I have mentioned large ships, because the strength of a fleet depends more on the size of the ships and weight of metal, than on their number; in such case, the line will not be so much extended as if the vessels were smaller and more numerous; the signals can be seen and answered from the extremities of the line with more certainty, and the order of battle can be better kept. The length of a ship, from the point of the bowsprit to the stern, may be estimated at forty fathoms, and the distance between two ships one hundred fathoms, consequently, the one hundred ships would form one line of fourteen thousand fathoms, or twenty-eight thousand yards, equal to near sixteen miles. Such a line could not see and answer signals from the van and rear to the centre. It could, however, be formed into four divisions of twenty-five ships each, and they again could be subdivided; but the tactics which must be adhered to when two fleets of near equal force engage, will be of little utility when the attack is made by a sufficient number of Torpedo boats. ESTIMATE OF THE FORCE TO ATTACK SO FORMIDABLE A BLOCKADING FLEET Men, sixty thousand, a number equal to the British; they cannot all be sailors, nor is it necessary they should, but men, who with six weeks exercise can learn to row well, for to row with tolerable dexterity, is all the nautical knowledge required. To divide the sixty thousand men, twelve in a boat, will require five thousand boats, each of which will be so light, that its twelve men can draw it on the beach above high water mark, or on the sands or plane, in a few minutes, or launch it into the water with equal facility. MANNER OF ARRANGING THE BOATS UNTIL WANTED A boat being six feet wide and twenty-seven feet long, if a space of twelve feet wide and thirty-nine feet long be allowed for each boat, four hundred and forty of them would range side by side in the distance of one mile, then leaving twelve feet from the stems of the first row to the sterns of the second, and a like space between each line, the five thousand boats could be laid up on a beach or plane one mile long, one hundred and fifty yards wide, and give sufficient room for the men to get at the boats without confusion; this plan would not require the expence of forming a bason or harbour. Thus arranged, each boat with its Torpedo, harpoon-guns, arms, and oars, in their places, and the twelve men in their stations, six on each side of the boat, the whole could be run into the water and manned in an hour, which facility of embarking is of the first importance for rapid movements, and to take advantage of the weather.[K]