| abstract | - The three Minotaur-class armoured frigates were essentially enlarged versions of the ironclad HMS Achilles with heavier armament, armour, and more powerful engines. They retained the broadside ironclad layout of their predecessor, but their sides were fully armoured to protect the 50 guns they were designed to carry. Their plough-shaped ram was also more prominent than that of Achilles. The ships were long between perpendiculars and long overall. They had a beam of and a draft of . The Minotaur-class ships displaced . Their hull was subdivided by 15 watertight transverse bulkheads and had a double bottom underneath the engine and boiler rooms. Agincourt was considered "an excellent sea-boat and a steady gun platform, but unhandy under steam and practically unmanageable under sail" as built. The ship's steadiness was partially a result of her metacentric height of .
|
