One of the most powerful ships in the world in 1720 was HMS Royal Sovereign . She was a hundred-gun ship of the line and the flagship of the Royal Navy.
The heaviest gun on board was the 32-pounder. Its theoretical range was approximately 3,700 meters, but its practical range was 650 meters. They were hand-loaded and fired, and please note that they were aimed either straight ahead or directly to one side.
No turrets here! They can be swung to either side, but their firing arc is rather limited.
There are currently many options for the weakest ship, but one of the weakest ships in the French Navy in terms of firepower is the
French Navy's
training ship. The example shown is the
Guépard ( Léopard class ).
Its heaviest weapon is the 20mm Oerlikon cannon in a turret. Its effective range is 3000 meters, with a maximum range of 6800 meters.
Note also that one is powered solely by sail, with a speed of approximately 10 to 14 knots. The other is motorized, with a speed of over 25 knots.
So, theoretically, the Cheetah could simply surround HMS Royal Sovereign , strike it from all angles, and well beyond the range of the British guns. Those 20mm cannons would tear through the wooden hull, start fires, and simply devastate the crew.
Canon Oerlikon 20mm
If, by some miracle, a cannonball were to strike the Cheetah , it would bore a solid hole in it, but unless it struck something flammable or even hit a hole in the ship to let water in, it would be unlikely to sink it.
There were even angles where the English gun couldn't even hit the Cheetah , but the 20mm guns easily raked HMS Royal Sovereign from any angle. A 20mm would probably be able to hit the stern and penetrate through the bow of HMS Royal Sovereign , and ships of the line had few guns at the bow or stern.
There simply is no competition.