 Alceste was built for the French Navy as the Minerve , an Armide @-@ Class 18 @-@ pounder / 40 @-@ gun frigate to a design by Pierre Rolland . She was built at Rochefort with construction starting in May 1804 . She was launched in September 1805 and finished in November . She was 152 feet 5 inches ( 46 @.@ 46 m ) along her gundeck with a 40 feet ( 12 m ) beam . With a depth in the hold of 12 feet 8 inches ( 3 @.@ 86 m ) , she had a capacity of just over 1 @,@ 097 tons BM . When first fitted out , Minerve carried twenty @-@ eight 18 pounders ( 8 @.@ 2 kg ) as her main battery , fourteen 32 pounders ( 15 kg ) carronades on her quarter @-@ deck , while her forecastle had two 9 pounders ( 4 @.@ 1 kg ) long guns and two 32 pounders ( 15 kg ) carronades . 
