Most of the vessels from ports along the English Channel operating on the Grand Bank were of 90 tons. They were built solidly to withstand the violence of the sea, and their shape varied according to their origin. The typical ship from Normandy had an eighteen-foot beam and was 62 feet long. It had an eleven-foot draft, and usually two decks, with sometimes a forecastle or a poop deck, or both. In the mid-eighteenth century, the preferred ships became increasingly flat and did not have a forecastle or a poop deck. They were less expensive to build and easier to equip for the fishery. At that time, schooners were also becoming more popular in French ports, especially in Normandy.