The Bonetta group was a batch of eight 200-ton sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy during 1732. They followed on two previous sloops - the Grampus and the larger Wolf - built a year earlier. Seven were ordered on 4 May 1732 to a common specification prepared by Jacob Acworth, the Surveyor of the Navy. An additional vessel – Trial (which had been ordered on 16 November 1731, but suspended on 7 January 1732) – was re-ordered on 6 July to be built to the same specification. The actual individual design was left up to the Master Shipwright in each Royal Dockyard at which they were built (except for Hound and Trial, which were built by Deptford's Master Shipwright – Richard Stacey – but were to a design by Jacob Acworth). All the draughts were approved by the Navy Board on 28 June 1732.

Class overview
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byGrampus class
Succeeded byDrake class
Built1732
In commission1732–1751
Completed8
Lost2
Retired6
General characteristics (common specification)
TypeSloop-of-war
Tons burthen200 bm
Length(see individual vessels)
Beam(see individual vessels)
Depth of hold(see individual vessels)
Sail planSnow
Complement80
Armament
  • 8 × 3-pounder or 4-pounder guns;
  • also 12 x ½-pounder swivel guns

Although fitted with snow rigs and initially armed with eight 3-pounder guns (except Shark which was rigged as a ketch and fitted with eight 4-pounders), this group was built with seven pairs of gunports on the upper deck (each port flanked by two pairs of row-ports).

Vessels

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Name Laid down Dockyard Launched Completed First cost
(including
fitting out)
Fate
Shark 4 July 1732 Portsmouth Dockyard 7 September 1732 23 September 1732 £2,887.6.10d Sold 2 December 1755 at Deptford Dockyard.
Bonetta 5 July 1732 Woolwich Dockyard 24 August 1732 1 September 1732 £2,728.1.2d Wrecked 20 October 1746 off Jamaica.
Fly 7 July 1732 Sheerness Dockyard 15 September 1732 18 October 1732 £2,600.17.6d Taken to pieces 11 February 1751 at Sheerness Dockyard
Spy 10 July 1732 Chatham Dockyard 25 August 1732 9 September 1732 £2,777.3.1d Sold 25 April 1745 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Saltash 10 July 1732 Plymouth Dockyard 7 September 1732 31 October 1732 £2,705.3.10d Sold 22 October 1741 at Plymouth Dockyard
Cruizer 11 July 1732 Deptford Dockyard 6 September 1732 23 September 1732 £2,663.5.534d Sold 22 January 1745 at Deptford Dockyard.
Hound 11 July 1732 Deptford Dockyard 6 September 1732 18 September 1732 £2,690.16.4d Taken to pieces June 1745 at Deptford Dockyard.
Trial 11 July 1732 Deptford Dockyard 6 September 1732 29 September 1732 £2,583.10.214d Scuttled as unserviceable on 4 October 1741 off Valparaiso.

The following is a list of the dimensions and tonnages of the individual vessels:

Name Designer Length
(gundeck)
Length
(keel)
Beam Depth
in hold
Burthen
tonnage
Shark Joseph Allin 80 ft 0 in (24.4 m) 63 ft 0 in (19.2 m) 24 ft 6 in (7.5 m) 9 ft 11.25 in (3.0 m) 201 1394 bm
Bonetta John Hayward 81 ft 4 in (24.8 m) 65 ft 6 in (20.0 m) 24 ft 0 in (7.3 m) 10 ft 0 in (3.0 m) 200 6494 bm
Fly John Ward 86 ft 6 in (26.4 m) 69 ft 7 in (21.2 m) 23 ft 3 in (7.1 m) 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) 200 394 bm
Spy Benjamin Rosewell 85 ft 7 in (26.1 m) 69 ft 5 in (21.2 m) 23 ft 4 in (7.1 m) 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) 200 9194 bm
Saltash Peirson Lock 85 ft 7 in (26.1 m) 69 ft 1.5 in (21.1 m) 23 ft 4 in (7.1 m) 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) 200 1794 bm
Cruizer Richard Stacey 87 ft 6 in (26.7 m) 71 ft 1 in (21.7 m) 23 ft 0 in (7.0 m) 9 ft 5 in (2.9 m) 200 194 bm
Hound Jacob Acworth 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m) 68 ft 1 in (20.8 m) 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m) 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) 200 (exact) bm
Trial Jacob Acworth 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m) 68 ft 1 in (20.8 m) 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m) 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) 200 (exact) bm

References

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  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • McLaughlan, Ian. The Sloop of War 1650–1763. Seaforth Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1-84832-187-8.
  • Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.