alcohol is lighter than water, lower specific gravity. 79000 gallons of water (with a specific gravity of 1.0) weighs 264 tons or a volume of 264 cubic meters. not all that much when you do the math for weight, whereas water and food are much more dense which would make carrying more of either much less efficient. seriously, a ship that size should have no trouble with that amount.
we can carry 36,000 tons. now that's a load.
Remember, a ship that size* ain't really all that big. Plus, a gun deck full of cannons, not to mention the crew (450+ men and officers), as well as spare canvas/sails, timbers, rope, rigging, etc. in addition to the booze, water, booze, food, booze, ammunition, booze, and shot.
*She's 204' long (175' at the waterline) and only 43.5' wide. I can't find anything with her displacement, but then they measured by guns in those days, as in she was rated as a 44-gun heavy frigate.
Awwww, frigate, where's the booze? ? ? ? ?
