TRAN 502: Pirate Ships

This discussion deals with the overall pirate requirements for a ship to make his business successful. We will not discuss the specific types of ship nor their suitability as pirate vessels

To the pirate, their ship was many things. Home, where he lived, ate & slept. Pirate ships carried large crews for boarding and managing taken ships. There needed to be enough space to sustain them.

It was also his place of  He needed guns to attack with and space to work them. It was also the store room for plunder until they could dispose of it through sales or trading. Many pirate craft were small, coastal craft but, for the seagoing vessel, space was required to sustain the pirate venture.

The ship was the pirate’s means of attack and escape, so speed was vital. Generally speaking, (as referenced in TRAN 501 Naval Ships) pirates needed shallow drafted, fast sailing ships to hide in and escape among the shallow waters of islands of the Caribbean and North American coasts.

Pirates preferred small, fast vessels such as sloops, brigantines and schooners. Sloops produced in the Caribbean were ideally suited to the needs of pirate crews, although a small number of pirate crews preferred roomier, larger vessels. As well as speed, smaller vessels had an advantage in draft. They could enter shallow waters without fear of grounding, waters where larger vessels (such as warships) were unable to follow. Smaller vessels were also easier to maintain and careen, an important factor if speed was to be maintained. (Careening involved beaching the vessel and scraping and cleaning the lower hulls, removing seaweed, barnacles, etc.)

Pirates altered captured vessels to suit their particular needs. They would convert the captured ship into a fighting machine. They removed unnecessary bulkheads and other internal partitions below decks. This modification created a clear space to work the vessel's guns. Another modification was known as "Making her flush." This involved removing the forecastle and lowering the quarter deck so that the upper deck ran from bow to stern creating an unobstructed fighting platform. The hull could be pierced to carry extra guns, her timbers were strengthened to absorb the greater stresses of firing and weight created by the increased armament, and she would be fitted with an array of swivel guns mounted on the gunwales.

Most pirates came from the lower decks of naval and merchant ship but proved to be both cunning and inventive in the pursuit of their chosen trade.

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