Britain became a naval power primarily by means of what was avialable to them, and by the way the economy in Britain was formed. Britain was primarily built around shipping and trading. Merchant ships often kept the entire economy afloat (pun intended), and therefore, there was a large amount of these ships belonging to British citizens in service. Naval force began by outfitting merchant ships with guns in times of war, and utilizing them to attack the enemy. As they had more merchant ships in their economy, they were able to overwhelm similar forces from other countries (see France) and take even more ships, thus bolstering their Navy even more. As wars changed and naval force became even more important (Queen Anne's War/War of Spanish Succession) with the introduction of privateering and straight up warships, Britian realized this would be a key force moving forward, and continued to focus on efficiency and power in their navy.

Two books that are really great on this subject are Ralph Davis' The Rise of the English Shipping Industry (1962) and Ned Ward's The Wooden World Dissected (1708).

Hopefully this was a helpful starting point!