Pirate Ships

Contrary to popular belief, most of the pirate ships used off the coast of North America and in the Caribbean, during the "Golden Age of Piracy"(1690-1730), were neither large nor did they carry a lot of heavy cannons. Unfortunately, in the miniature game world, the few companies that produce resin "pirate ships" tend to make them far to large and with far to many cannons to be historically accurate. In truth, however, pirate ships were usually neither and most were not even "ships" at all, since their main sales were not "square rigged". Only in cases involving a relatively few select pirates, were larger and more formidable ships employed. Most pirates of the Caribbean preferred small vessels, such as Sloops, Schooners (actually 2-masted sloops) or, in some cases, Brigantines. This fact is substantiated by the fact that well over half of the pirate attacks made in the American waters were conducted by Sloops and Schooners (Cordingly, 1995). In the Caribbean, pirates used Sloops in over two-thirds of the recorded raids between 1710 and 1730. Why such small vessels ? The answer is contained within the basic pirate tactics of the time and a pirate's very survival depended on its strict compliance. A number of important factors defined the "classic" pirate ship. 

First, was a crew that could be trusted. Smaller ships required fewer crew members and a trustworthy crew was hard to find. Second, the pirate vessels had to have a shallow draft in order to traverse the shallower coastal and inland waterways where they could be easily avoid pursuit and remain hidden from prying eyes. The larger the ship, the deeper the draft. This was very important since larger and heavier armed (government) warships had a deeper draft and could not follow the fleeing pirate vessels into their shallower water hiding places. Third, speed. Since most pirate ardently avoided warships, which they knew they stood no chance in defeating in a duel, speed was essential. Heavier ships were slower and smaller ships, besides being lower to the water and harder to hit with cannon fire, were much faster and far more maneuverable. If you can't fight, you need to put a lot of distance between yourself and your foe and you need to do it fast. Hence, smaller and faster Sloops were the vessels of choice.     

The fourth consideration was armament. Clearly, the greater the number and size of the guns, the greater the displacement and the slower the ships speed. Additionally, between 6-8 men were also needed to crew each gun and so pirates preferred a smaller number of guns aboard and of smaller size. The majority of the cannons aboard "pirate vessels" were cast-iron "minions" (3 to 4 pounders) of British or French manufacture, with the more expensive and larger bronze guns being used on larger warships. Since the smarter pirate captains has no intention from the start of trading broadsides (cannon fire) with a larger, stronger warship, bristling with cannons and manned by a well trained crew, these seafaring cutthroats relied far more on stealth and surprise then on cannon fire and bravado. Besides, heavier cannons, especially 18 and 24 pound types, had a weight of thousands of pounds and this effected displacement and ultimately speed and maneuverability. Additionally, pirates knew that a deck full of cannons were useless when dealing with an unarmed merchant vessel. Using cannons against an unarmed (or lightly armed) merchant vessel, laden with booty, rank the risk of sinking the ship and all the loot she carried. To a pirate, this was not an option.  

The key was surprise and intimidation. The pirates had to sneak up on their victims, and then when noticed (which was usually to late to flee) the crafty brigands would hoist the Jolly Roger, which signified to the terrified victims that "no quarter" would be given if any resistance was attempted. The pirates would then boarding the other ship and seize the loot and capture the passengers, the latter which would be ransomed. As for the captain and crew of the victim ship, they faced a wide variety of fates ranging from torture and death to being released in one of the ships "long boats".  

The "Sloop" (left) is a classical example of the type of vessel favored and used by the majority of pirates that sailed Caribbean and American Coast during the Golden Age of Piracy.  

Usually displacing about 120 tons, she averaged around 52 feet in length, had a beam (width) of 18 feet and a crewed of  between 50-75 men. 

Armament consisted of from 3 to 5 light three or four pound cannons per side and a swivel gun on her bow, she was still a formidable weapon when encountered at sea. 

With her shallow draught, usually about 7 feet, she was able to navigate the shallow waters and reefs with ease. 

Her mast, "fore and aft rigged", had a "square rigged" top sail and a "jibbed" bowsail.     

The infamous pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) fought his last fight aboard the single masted Sloop in 1718 near South Carolina's Outer Banks. His vessel, the Adventure, was armed with only 8 small cannons (4 guns per side plus a swivel gun on the bow) and a crew of but 25 hardy souls. The rest of his "fleet", and their malevolent crews, were away on other pursuits. when he engaged a  British Royal Naval force consisting of two virtually unarmed civilian Sloops, the Jane and the Revenge. under the overall command of Lieutenant Maynard. In this brief encounter, which culminated in a bloody on-deck melee, Blackbeard and 10 of his crew were killed and the remaining 15 were captured. Another famous pirate, Edmund Condent, commanded a captured Portuguese naval twin-masted Sloop (also called a Schooner), the Flying Dragon, in 1719. She had crew of 50 men and carried 10 small 3-pound cannons. Stede Bonnet's pirate ship, the Royal James (1718), was also a Sloop, as were the two British ships, the Henry (8 guns and 70 men) and the Sea Nymph (8 guns and 40 men), under the overall command of Colonel William Rhett, sent to hunt him down. 

Another "ship" used by pirates was the Brigantine. Though far from being as common as the Sloop or Schooner in the Caribbean, these vessels were still used none the less. Both Charles Vane, and "Calico Jack" Rackham commanded a captured Brigantine, that was renamed the Ranger.   

A Brigantine was a two-masted ship with a square-rigged foremast and a fore and aft rig and square sail rig combination on the mainmast. 

She displaced between 150 and 175 ton, measured around 80 feet in length, and was 25 feet wide. 

Brigantines had a relatively shallow draught of around 11 feet and a crew of up to 100 men.

In regards to armament, they varied greatly, having as few as 6 to as many as 10 four to six pound light cannons on each side. 

They lacked the speed of a Sloop or schooner, but had the ability to carry more "booty" and this made them a choice for a number of noteworthy pirates.  

Though other vessels, such as Dutch fluyts, and even captured Frigates were used by pirates such as the 40-gun Royale Fortune, that was the flagship for Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts), this was not a common practice.  

The Little Ranger (Scratch-built Pirate Ship by F. J. Schaller Jr)