Built of a traditional wooden construction, the
Racer class were a lengthened version of the , which in turn had been intended as "type of screw vessel below the
Cruizer". The extra length gave greater speed, and combined with a considerable increase in power, this gave a speed of about , rather more than the of the previous class. The class were armed with a single
32-pounder gun (58 cwt) gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder (25 cwt)
carronades on the broadside. These guns were all
smoothbore muzzle-loading, and were little changed from the standard guns of Nelson's era. Propulsion was provided by a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine developing and driving a single screw. At maximum power under steam, top speed was about . A
barque rig of sails was carried, which meant the ships of the class had three
masts with a
square rig on the fore and main masts. ==Ships==