Brigantine

Smaller and less powerful than it's big brother the Brig the Brigantine is nevertheless still a capable vessel in the hands of a skilled master. The Brigantine is faster and smaller than most merchant ships making it able to catch much larger ships like the Poseidic Trade Ship. The Brig also carries the same crew compliment as a much larger vessel like the Large Merchantman and has the same number of guns.

It's much faster turning speed gives the Brigantine a huge advantage when it comes to trading fire with larger merchant ships, giving it the ability to turn into the broadsides and avoid significant damage and then turn again to deliver its own salvo before the enemy can reload. It's comparatively large crew also makes boarding actions less risky against most medium or large merchant ships.