San Carlo Borromeo was a first-rank ship of the line of the Venetian navy, serving from 1750 to 1768.
[1] In its final form, it had a length of slightly over 51 metres (167 ft), a displacement of c. 2300 tons, and armed with 74 cannon, although normally, in peacetime, she only carried 66 (28x40-pounders, 26x20-pounders, 12x14-pounders).
[1] In 1758, under the command of Angelo Emo, a new mast configuration—rather than made out of single tree-trunks, they were composed from different pieces of wood—inspired by English models was tested.
[2] Throughout its career, the ship was plagued by a tendency to lose its rudder in heavy weather;[1] during a mission into the Atlantic Sea in 1758, she almost foundered off the coast of Portugal.
[3] Several commissions and experiments were conducted in subsequent years to find the cause of the problem and rectify it, however the ship was lost with all hands during a storm on 21 March 1768, while sailing in the Adriatic Sea.