How do you organize your navy?

[Illuminatus]

Hello, I have a good campaign with France, I am in the year of absolutism, and getting really good into colonialism and trade companies (I have some holdings in South Africa, East Africa, South Arabia, one province in India, and Indonesia), also Antilles, Louisiana and some provinces in Canada.

I wish to have naval hegemony, right now, I have 2 groups of 10 ships protecting trade routes, and one big group (15/20/0/40) to move my second army who I use it to conquest East Africa, South Arabia and India.

I am thinking of creating another group of ships to defend the Mediterranean Sea (I have never crate galleys).

So, I would like to hear how do you organize your navy.

 

[makaramus]

if I am england I going full trade + trade + transport ships
if I am portugal heavy transport + heavy
if I am any country in mediterrian %60 galley %20 trade %10 transport %10 heavy

 

[Kergan]

What you want to look at is the naval combat width. Fill it with galleys plus a few in case you get losses (also keep in mind that an Admiral's maneuver will increase the combat width), and have a "back row" of transports to keep moral losses low when you lose a ship.

Note in passing that a heavy takes 3 combat width slots, get fielded first, and that 3 galleys are far superior to 1 heavy in inner seas. So don't send (too many) heavies in the Mediterranean.

As Italy I usually stop at 60 galleys - they'll trash anything thrown at them, can sustain multiple fights in a row, and you can then split the fleet into smaller galley stacks to protect against pirates and raids during peacetime (in Genoa, Venice, Ragusa, Alexandria, and Constantinople).

Besides that I've a transport navy sitting around for when I need to move any one stack quickly from one end of the Mediterranean to the other (and to keep morale high during combat), some trade ships for Sevilla (I allocate some to pirate duty if I've provinces in the area, since galleys can't do that there), and by mid-game enough heavies to beat up the UK's fleet (which I keep mothballed) - just in case I need a quick separate peace by taking London.

 

[ecrurudesby]

Naval organisation is tailored to the nation. For Example England typically has no use for Galleys, unless they're focusing on inland seas for extended periods. Conversely if Italy does not advance outside of the Mediterranean then it has no use for Heavies. France has a Mediterranean coastline and an Atlantic coastline, so should use Galleys in the former and heavies in the latter, avoiding mixing the two if possible.

Base combat width is 25. Increased 10% if coastal, and 10% for every maneuver pip on an admiral. Also a couple of uncommon things, 10% from Naval ideas, and 20% from an Age of Revolutions ability. You'll rarely have a combat width over 30, so 30 Galleys for inland seas and 10 Heavies for everywhere else. Going slightly over to something like 35 Galleys and 12 Heavies is perfectly fine. You don't want to split them up to less than 30 and 10 because they'll be vulnerable.

Light ships protect trade in nodes where you have power and want more power, such as Genoa, English Channel, Ivory Coast, Zanzibar, Aden, Caribbean. Use them in nodes where your share is smaller, not larger. AI is terrible at naval warfare. Don't copy their composition and put Light ships in combat fleets or transport fleets unless you're sure of complete victory in the batte. If you want to protect transports use Heavies or Galleys where appropriate. Two opposing fleets with transports in both will not engage each other.

 

[zePa]

I usually have "trade" groups of 10/20 light ships protecting trade nodes and "combat&transport" groups (transports&heavies or galleys - the last ones only in inland seas)

When I plan a big war against a naval power like Spain I usually merge all the light ships in the "combat&transport" groups before DoW.

 

[MrParadux]

You shouldn't bring your transports into battles. They sink quickly and reduce the morale of the whole fleet when they do. It is better to not have them participate in the first place.

 

[Zephyrum]

3 groups:

Battle - Galleys or Heavies according to situation, as many as I feel I will be needing in future wars. Typically 15-30 Galleys based on what enemies I'm likely going to face. When the economy allows it, I replace it by 15-30 Heavies. On non-inland seas I keep 5 to 10 heavies for early game and do most fighting with lights.
Transports - Typically a little over my stacks' size in transport. Early game I usually keep less than 15, but later on I pack squads of 30-40 of those.
Lights - After I'm done updating + stacking the other two groups in the desired amounts, I build up to navy force limit on Lights.

 

[szmik]

It doesn't matter much if you have more ships (full combat width + reinforcements) and galleys are useful even outside inland seas if supported by 3-4 heavies (for tanking damage), because AI usually has less ships (except maybe for GB) and is beaten most of the time (galleys beat light ships unless outnumbered), it's more flavour than anything. Galleys are slow though.