Coles once again resorted to appealing to public opinion to obtain support for a ship more closely in accord with his design ideas.
The civilian First Lord remained agreeable to his plans, although the Board of Admiralty was split.
Eventually the Board agreed to pay for the construction of a ship, although this was to be supervised by Coles himself in an Admiralty-approved yard; Laird Brothers agreed to build her.
Plans for HMS Captain were submitted to the Admiralty as would be normal, but Reed declined to 'approve' them, instead marking all drawings 'not objected to'.
He eventually resigned over the affair in July 1870, two months before the disaster.
Construction commenced in January 1867.

Captain was designed to have a freeboard of only 8 feet (2.4 m), but owing to mistakes in construction leading to increased weight, the ship eventually floated 14 inches (360 mm) lower in the water.
She had a full set of sails and the highest masts in the navy.
She was completed in January 1870, and initial trials were successful.
In May, she accompanied the Channel fleet and successfully weathered a gale.
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Symmonds commanding commented favorably on both Captain and Monarch.
Captain achieved 14.25 knots (26.39 km/h; 16.40 mph), compared to Monarch's 14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph) under steam, but with smaller engines.
Under sail, Captain was faster.
All in all, she was hailed as a vindication of Coles' ideas.

In August, the ship sailed again with Coles on board.
The weather deteriorated, and again she had to face a gale.
This time, however, the wind was gusting and unpredictable.
Extensive rigging had been necessary to make the ship oceangoing.
This forced the creation of a "hurricane deck" above the turrets, which increasingly caught the wind as she heeled over.
This may have been instrumental in Captain's tragic capsize.
Coles perished in the disaster after midnight on the night of 6 September.

It emerged that the ship had a maximum righting moment at an angle of heel around 18 degrees.
If she was pushed over beyond this angle, the moment declined.
By contrast, Monarch had a maximum restoring force at an angle of 40 degrees, so that any heel up to this limit would always meet increasing resistance.
Coles once again resorted to appealing to public opinion to obtain support for a ship more closely in accord with his design ideas. The civilian First Lord remained agreeable to his plans, although the Board of Admiralty was split. Eventually the Board agreed to pay for the construction of a ship, although this was to be supervised by Coles himself in an Admiralty-approved yard; Laird Brothers agreed to build her. Plans for HMS Captain were submitted to the Admiralty as would be normal, but Reed declined to 'approve' them, instead marking all drawings 'not objected to'. He eventually resigned over the affair in July 1870, two months before the disaster. Construction commenced in January 1867.
Captain was designed to have a freeboard of only 8 feet (2.4 m), but owing to mistakes in construction leading to increased weight, the ship eventually floated 14 inches (360 mm) lower in the water. She had a full set of sails and the highest masts in the navy. She was completed in January 1870, and initial trials were successful. In May, she accompanied the Channel fleet and successfully weathered a gale. Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Symmonds commanding commented favorably on both Captain and Monarch. Captain achieved 14.25 knots (26.39 km/h; 16.40 mph), compared to Monarch's 14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph) under steam, but with smaller engines. Under sail, Captain was faster. All in all, she was hailed as a vindication of Coles' ideas.
In August, the ship sailed again with Coles on board. The weather deteriorated, and again she had to face a gale. This time, however, the wind was gusting and unpredictable. Extensive rigging had been necessary to make the ship oceangoing. This forced the creation of a "hurricane deck" above the turrets, which increasingly caught the wind as she heeled over. This may have been instrumental in Captain's tragic capsize. Coles perished in the disaster after midnight on the night of 6 September.
It emerged that the ship had a maximum righting moment at an angle of heel around 18 degrees. If she was pushed over beyond this angle, the moment declined. By contrast, Monarch had a maximum restoring force at an angle of 40 degrees, so that any heel up to this limit would always meet increasing resistance.
Cowper Phipps Coles