and here's where i get confused. i haven't seen some of these ships, and haven't used even more of them. the superray isn't used at the moment, by the way.
Galeoth: The galeoth is one of the smallest ships that lean more towards the trade section. It is wider than most ships, allowing for good storage space and a fair amount of guns. The sailplan is geared towards effeciency instead of speed, so there's no need for much crew, allowing for more cargo space. Escort is advised.
Gaff boom galeoth (might need correction on this discription, since i've never had one of these): Having an improved sailplan over the Regular galeoth, it has better speed and maneuvrability. The ship itself is very similar, and has the same armament and cargo space. Skeleton crew slightly differs.
Sloop: The next step up from the cutter, this is a more heavily built and armed ship than it's little brother. It has retained it's speed and most of it's agility, and is therefor still an excellent choice for pirates. However, it's single mast remains vulnerable, and it would be wise to stay out of enemy fire.
Fast Schooner: Everything on this ship has been constructed with speed in mind, and it is therefor the fastest ship money can buy. It is of an almost flimsy build, and can't take much damage because of this, but what do you have to fear of cannonfire when they can't hit you anyway? Little cargo space, but heavily armed for it's size. Extremely dangerous when in the hands of a pirate.
Footnote(include in discription): Rumor has it that there is one ship even faster than the fast schooner, although this has not been confirmed.
Ketch: The ketch is very similar to the sloop, except for one major detail: the ketch now has a mizzen mast in addition to the main mast. This results in an increase in both speed and maneuvrability, as well as greatly reducing the risk of getting stranded without a mast.
Fast Barque: This is a very unusual ship, both in rigging and basic design. The idea was a caravel built with an aptitude for speed, unlike other caravels. As a result, a small trading vessel's rigging has been modified to create this ship. To everyone's amazement, it actually worked, and this is a comparatively fast and manuevrable ship as a result.
Bootschip:
Light Brig:
16 Gun Brig: Being a small brig in design, it is more plump than most. It has better speed and manuevrability than galeoths, yet still has it's good cargo space. Because of this, they are more capable of defending themselves, but an escort would still be a good idea.
Bermuda sloop: As sloops come, this is as big as they get. It's almost excessive sailplan and sleek hull allow for amazing speed and good storage space. The amount of guns carried on board are few, but they are of a relatively high caliber compared to other ships of this class. The captain enjoys a spacious cabin at the stern.