pirate ship discusion

[Barracuda Beth]

I love pirate ships and I want to know all about them,in fact I wish I had my very own pirate ship. What are common types of ships that the pirates used?

[Dutchman]

without sounding simple- one that floats. It depends on whats available, the region and era. If you can capture a better suited vessel for your needs you did, or you had what worked for your tactics and stole a new one when yours wore out. Dampier recalls ships being captured laying at harbor by nothing more than a couple of dug out canoes. The Whydah and Queen Anne were captured and refitted slavers which suited ocean raiding well, but did not do so well around coasts and shallow water. For that something along the lines of a sloop would work well. If you were a raider on the Chesapeake bay a couple of long boats working together out of back creeks with nothing more than swivel guns and muskets would work.

Its 430 and i'm trying to think this out, if i just plugged in the wrong name someone help me out please. I can only think of one ship that was built for pyracy and that was Steede Bonnets Revenge. He was a plantation owner who turned to piracy and had his own ship built. Turns out he wasn't much of a mariner though.

Sorry to be so vague, but its a wide range of possibilities.

*edit* tell ya what, give us a time frame and a description of what you vision- or maybe a drawing and I bet a slew of pictures and ideas from the pubsters will start pouring in.

[Tartan Jack]

Honestly, this question fuels the whole "shipyard" section of the forum . . .

You'd want on w/ simple enough rigging for your crew to operate (as larger crews meant more shares to divide anything captured), fast enough to overtake any prey, and all else depended on the situation (location, intent, what doing, and era).

Pirates used about everything from a canoe to a captured warship. Most were sloops or brigs w/ a number of ships around 100 feet long.

See this list: https://pyracy.com/index.php?showtopic=16728

After each name, the type is listed as well as number of guns.

Here is an index of a few of the more info-filled threads in this section: https://pyracy.com/index.php?showtopic=16737

[Daniel]

Bonnet bought his sloop Revenge, but AFAIK he didn't order it built.

In the Golden Age of Piracy, about 1660 to 1730, I would say sloops and three-masted ships were the main pirate vessels. For sloops, see Bonnet's Revenge, Tew's Amity, Blackbeard's Adventure, Hornigold's Ranger, and I think Pierre le Grand's vessel. Purpose-built privateer vessels like Avery's Fancy and Kidd's Adventure Galley were the best three-masted ships, but ex-slave ships like Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge, Cocklyn's Windham Bellamy's Whydah Gally, and Lowther's Gambia Castle were also much used.

[MarkG]

I love pirate ships and I want to know all about them,in fact I wish I had my very own pirate ship. What are common types of ships that the pirates used?

Pirates started with whatever ship they could get a hold of. Some mutinied, others voted as a crew to turn to piracy. Some used small boats such as dug-outs or pirogues to sneak aboard a ship and seize it.

Once they had a ship, they either tried to capture a bigger ship or they reworked the ship they had. They would streamline ships and add cannons.

A few pirates managed to work their way to large ships but most used smaller ones. Blackbeard apparently decided that a large ship meant that the loot had to be split too many ways. He beached his ship and abandoned most of his crew.

Mark

[Crudbeard]

I also think, although it isn't ever mentioned, that pirates tended to the smaller vessels because they rarely had access to the shore support that large vessels such as galleons, frigates, etc. required. As they used "pick up" crews, they would also have a problem securing personnel for the specialized departments like carpentry, coopers, sailmakers, etc. that maintain the larger ones. Also, the work of maintenance goes up exponentially as the vessel gets bigger, pirates would have a problem with the work load. Gotta have time for rum ya know.

[captscurvy_nc]

I love pirate ships and I want to know all about them,in fact I wish I had my very own pirate ship. What are common types of ships that the pirates used?

Best way I have found to learn everything about pirate ships is start with gathering the neccesary knowledge and skills needed to crew on a ship and then volunteer for anything and everything you can at festivals. I learnd more in one afternoon hauling lines aboard the Mekka II at Hampton then I would have believed. It was worth it. Study up on your sailor knowledge and then just keep offering your srvices to hlp crew and you'll be gtting hands on experience in no time

[MarkG]

I also think, although it isn't ever mentioned, that pirates tended to the smaller vessels because they rarely had access to the shore support that large vessels such as galleons, frigates, etc. required. As they used "pick up" crews, they would also have a problem securing personnel for the specialized departments like carpentry, coopers, sailmakers, etc. that maintain the larger ones. Also, the work of maintenance goes up exponentially as the vessel gets bigger, pirates would have a problem with the work load. Gotta have time for rum ya know.

There are advantages to smaller ships. As you pointed out, a smaller ship needs a smaller crew (with larger shares for everyone) and fewer specialties needed. They had to do all of their maintenance themselves which means that the ship has to be small enough that it can be careened on a sandy beach and refloated easily.

Another advantage is that small ships can take refuge in rivers and shallows.

We went through Nelson's Victory last month and I was struck at how unsuitable a ship of the line is for piracy. When you need hundreds of men to crew the ship there is never going to be enough treasure to make piracy worthwhile.

Mark

[Daniel]

The point that large ships required much more maintenance and more specialized personnel is valid. But note that some pirates, like Bartholomew Roberts, dealt with this problem by simply switching to newly captured large ships, so they didn't have to deal with the headache of maintaining their old one.

[Fox]

We went through Nelson's Victory last month and I was struck at how unsuitable a ship of the line is for piracy. When you need hundreds of men to crew the ship there is never going to be enough treasure to make piracy worthwhile.

Finding the 800 odd men to crew a ship that size would be tricky too. The other very real difficulty facing pirates in search of a well armed big ship of the line - and, in fact, the difficulty that knocks all other considerations into a cocked hat - would be capturing the thing in the first place.

[MarkG]

The point that large ships required much more maintenance and more specialized personnel is valid. But note that some pirates, like Bartholomew Roberts, dealt with this problem by simply switching to newly captured large ships, so they didn't have to deal with the headache of maintaining their old one.

Captain Kidd switched ships for the same reason. He started with the Adventure Galley but eventually abandoned it because it was worm-eaten.

Mark

[Elena]

Pinnaces, snows, sloops were fast and small enough to hide in channels and small bays. They were preferred by pirates. The ones who had a larger crew might prefer also a brigantine, but it was usually the largest pirate ship, and there weren't as many.