I am investigating the times taken to tack and to wear, and also the turning circles (particularly under battle conditions),of sailing warships. My main interest is in frigates and ships of the line of the Napoleonic period, but the information is so scanty and conflicting, that I have had to extend the search to include ships of any size and the period to run from the earliest records (if any) right up to the 1860's when purely sailing warships finished. Here is the information I have so far; Some has been sent in as a result of my appeal in the site, and the name of the correspondent is given in green.

Tacking
Frigates and under
Item.		Information		Reference
F1		'Niger', 1757, a 'star performer' tacked in it's own length, although no time given.		Gardiner: The First Frigates
F2		From a speed of 6 knots, a French frigate of the 1780's, about 40m long will tack in 5 to 6 minutes.		J. Boudriot: History of of the French Frigate
F3		The brig 'Pantaloon' (1831) 'tacked per signal at 10.43, trimmed at 10.49. Six minutes seems long for a brig, but 'trimmed' implies perhaps not just the time to get round, but an inclusive time for the manoeuvre, perhaps like the French frigate. 'Pantaloon' then reported 1.5 minutes in stays on several occasions. David Hepper		William Symonds: Autobiography
F4		'Acorn' (12 gun brig) will stay as fast as men can go from brace to brace' David Hepper		William Symonds: Autobiography
Ships of the line
L1		Sea trials of the Swedish ship of the line Wasa 60 guns, 1779. Length 48.11 meters, beam, 13.51 m.:- In a fresh topsail breeze, at a speed of four knots and six fathoms, quoted as tacking in 2 1/2 minutes. The wearing time is quoted as being the same. Barry J. Fox		Daniel G. Harris: F.H. Chapman, The First Naval Architect And His Work. (Naval Institute Press, Appendix 7.)
L2		Starting close-hauled at 9 knots, a 74 will tack in 9 mins. 20 sec, with corresponding times for other speeds.		J. Boudriot: Vol. 4 of 'The 74 gun ship',
L3		'The Queen', 110 guns, built in 1839 could tack in 3.5 minutes in moderate weather. David Hepper		Report of Trial Cruises of HM Ships ... Order of house of Commons 13 May 1846
L4		HMS Vernon (2 decks 2000 tons, 1835 From the time helm put up until close to wind on opposite tack, 5 mins. But in another trial in head sea:- Went round in 2.5 mins, also 'wore like a cutter'.		William Symonds: Autobiography
L5		Writing of ships sailing in line and tacking in succession, (so presumably ships of the line) :- 'At the moderate tacking speed of 6 knots, few or no modern ships go about and gather way in less than three or four minutes'. And also:- 4 minutes is not long to be in stays. But:- 'Twenty years ago, they whirled about like tubs.' So perhaps at that earlier time even a ship of the line could tack in three or four minutes.		James H. Ward (USN): 'A Manual of Naval Tactics' (1859)
L6		In a force 3 wind, (a gentle breeze), the 1860 iron-clad 'The Warrior' took 7 minutes to tack. Lt Cdr M.D.Lewis RD, RNR (rtd) in a paper for the Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, Nov. 1999		J.Winton: Warrior, the First and Last
Relative rate of tacking, French and English
It is surprising that the British times quoted for manoeuvres are about half those given by Boudriot, because no one has ever suggested that the French were normally any less skilful as seamen. There are three possible explanations: (1) It is clear that the British and American times were with all crew prepared and was only the bare time from start of turn to getting on to the new course. It may be that the French times included the whole routine of getting the crew into position and finally going back to normal duties. As a possible instance of this, you will see below that an 80 gun ship and a 40 gun frigate gave the same times for wearing -about 6 minutes. However, the fact that the frigate finished about 460 yards upwind of the 80 gun ship would suggest to me that the frigate turned a much smaller (and so therefore quicker) turning circle than the other but the crew sailed happily on close-hauled, coiling every rope etc. before reporting the manoeuvre as complete. (2) Considering frigates, the mid-late 18thC British frigate was shorter than the equivalent French one, with a lower L/B ratio and deeper relative draft. This gave the French hull higher speed in optimum light-medium wind conditions and a flat sea, though not in rough conditions. The shorter British hull would turn faster, was considered more manoeuvrable and handier, and would be expected either to tack or wear quicker than the French frigate hull design. Rodger Marsh But here is another quote:-
L7		.....Two of the enemy's sloops of war .... were captured. Some of the officers from these vessels .... became my messmates ...(on the 'Defence'). One of them, a gentleman of fortune, had been ruined by the Revolution, and had taken to the naval service of his country as his last resource..... He spoke in very high terms of the discipline of the French fleet (1794) .... Nevertheless he could not help expressing his astonishment at the cleanliness and good order of the Defence. .... He watched all the motions of our fleet with extreme anxiety, and the manoeuver which seemed to attract his attention most was the rapidity with which our ships were tacked; often within five minutes, whereas the French ships, he told us, were always a 1/4 of an hour under that evolution. Barry Pallotta, USA		From the journal of William Henry Dillon in "Every Man Will Do His Duty " ed. Dean King (1997), pg. 14-15:
If the French navy could accept the above gentleman, they were obviously using officers without the many years of training in seamanship that British officers had, and some their men might have been similarly situated. So it looks rather as if a little of all three circumstances conspired to produce the final effect. I wouldn't like to claim that the discrepancy was permanent. British ships gradually gained in size and the French officers and men would gain in experience.
Wearing
Item.		Information		Reference
W1		Niger (1757), the "star performer " wore in 4 times it's own length. No time given.		Gardiner: The First Frigates
W2		Tweed (6th rate, 28 guns, 1823) "Will wear in her own length.", but no time given. David Hepper		Sailing Reports
W3		Wasa 60 guns, 1779. (see above) Length 48.11 meters, beam, 13.51 m.:- In a fresh topsail breeze, at a speed of four knots and six fathoms, quoted as wearing in 2 1/2 minutes. Barry J. Fox		Daniel G. Harris: F.H. Chapman, The First Naval Architect And His Work. (Naval Institute Press, Appendix 7.)
W4		Starting close-hauled at 9 knots, a 74 will wear in 12 mins, with corresponding times for other speeds.		J. Boudriot: Vol. 4 of 'The 74 gun ship',
W5		In an experiment, an 80 gun ship, a 50 gun razzee, and a 40 gun frigate all took approximately six minutes to wear, though no speeds were given. The frigate gained 460 yards to windward on the other two, so it's 6 minutes to tack may be pessimistic		Fincham: History of Naval Architecture (1851)
W6		In a force 3 wind, (a gentle breeze), the 1860 iron-clad 'The Warrior' took a surprising 48 minutes to wear. With a stronger wind it wore in 16 minutes. Lt Cdr M.D.Lewis RD, RNR (rtd)		J.Winton: Warrior, the First and Last
W7		'Captain' 74, 170ft gun deck. At 1pm, Nelson saw signal to tack, but considered situation and wore instead. Was in action by 1.15, having sailed some distance, so 6 minutes to wear seems quite reasonable. Michael Phillips		Notes by Nelson (Battle of St. Vincent 1794)

TURNING CIRCLES
I have only some very doubtful calculations of these derived from one or two descriptions of battle manoeuvres. I suppose it could also be the same as the circle described in wearing, but from this, I calculate radii of about 300 metres even for Fincham's ships - not the tight turn one might hope for in a battle. Assuming that wearing in 4 times it's own length meant, not the distance sailed, but the amount of sea-room required or the ground lost in the manoeuvre, Niger, with a length of about 40 metres, would have had a turning radius of about 80m.

RESEARCH
Some of the above information has come from my searches in the Library of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in London, other has been sent in by helpful correspondants. I have also looked at a few captain's logs and reports in the Public Record Office, visited the maritime museum in Rotterdam and Bremerhaven, (where the directors were very helpful) and have written to the principal American maritime museums. None of these could provide information, however.
I have not yet managed to get into the library of the Musée de la Marine in Paris. Is there anything there on the matter that would make another try worth while?

IS THERE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER?
In terms of fixed times for particular classes of ship, obviously not, because it will all depend on the particular vessel, the crew, the wind, the sea etc. A frigate should turn quicker than a 74, and the reports show quicker and slower examples of both. It is likely that any tests would have been conducted with experienced crews, and Boudriot and others have suggested that a faster speed results in a quicker turn. Allowing for all this, it looks rather as if there is a minimum time of 2.5 minutes for top-class ships of the line, with 5 minutes fairly general and 1.5 minutes upwards for smaller vessels, both for tacking and wearing.
In 'Reports on the Sailing Qualities of Ships' (Public Record Office, Kew, London), one sees captain's reports such as 'tacks quickly' 'wears slowly' etc. Although I never saw actual times quoted, the captains obviously had some times in mind in order to make such comparisons.

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