Reposting, since I didn't get an answer on the original two weeks back. While there are multiple internet sites that talk about a variety of ship types, I have yet to find a comprehensive resource that goes into depth on the characteristics, size, time period, and purpose of the major types. As such, I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations for books or other resources that cover this topic?
In what time period are you most interested? I've written about it here a bit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2709jm/how_would_a_britishhms_frigate_built_in_1715/
but there's not really one comprehensive reference book on this because there's such variance among navies and among merchant builders. If you're interested in the time period in general, I can recommend Tunstall and Tracy, Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: The Evolution of Fighting Tactics, 1650-1815. It's a very deep dive into tactics in British, French, Dutch and Spanish navies.
Rif Winfield's four-volume British Warships in the Age of Sail is a good resource as well, though individual volumes can be pricey. Winfield has also written monographs on particular types of ships in this time period.