Series I. Ship Design and Shipbuilding consists of six subseries containing memoranda, correspondence, and manuscripts relating to all aspects of designing and building naval vessels. Subseries A. General Ship Design and Building contains construction plans, instructions for performing different calculations and measurements, comparisons to English shipbuilding, and manuscripts. The first manuscript in the subseries, which says "Pour la Construction des Vaisseaux" on the cover, is partly in the hand of Duhamel, and is probably the first chapter of Elemens de l'Architecture Navale. The next manuscript, "Idee de la [construction]," gives the methods of construction used at the end of the seventeenth century into the beginning of the eighteenth century. According to Clément Denoy, this manuscript was written between 1715 and 1735; the material and its corresponding drawings were incorporated into Architecture Navale which was printed in 1752. The text and plates have additions and changes in the hand of Duhamel.

Subseries B. Wood for Building contains reports on different types of wood, dimensions of the pieces of wood for different locations on the vessels, and memoranda about wood from different regions. Subseries C. Rope Making and Strength contains test results about different types of ropes, memoranda on different types of rope and hemp, sales records of rope in certain areas. This subseries also contains correspondence about tests, experiments, and results on rope and rope making. Subseries D. Preservation of Wood and Rope contains correspondence and manuscripts about using tar as a preservative for rope and wood, its composition, methods for applying, and effectiveness. There are also documents discussing tests and comparisons of different types of preservatives.

Subseries E. Pumps contains comparisons of different types of pumps that were in use, descriptions of new pumps, and correspondence about types of pumps. In box 6, folder 11, one of the manuscripts is an explanation of a diagram of a specific pump. The diagram has been removed from this collection, and is in the Maritime Art and History department's collection, item numbers M10433 and M10435.

Subseries F. Miscellaneous Ship Equipment contains correspondence, memoranda, and drawings about other parts and materials of ships, such as dividers, nails, and capstans.