A ship is a fixed weight budget. Every ton of cannon is a ton not spent on speed, cargo, or men. Slide your priorities and watch which vessel wins — there is no single “best” ship.
☜ FirepowerWhat do you value?Speed ☞
heavy guns, slow hullfast hull, few guns
The frontier
Speed (x) vs. broadside weight (y); bubble = tonnage. You can be fast or heavily gunned, rarely both.
Illustrative allocation. Note the rigging slice — tons of hemp rope and flax canvas, the invisible engine of a sailing ship. A sharp, long hull sets the speed the sail can reach.