Famous Pirate Ships

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the pirate ships were swift, well-armed and nimble. Regular maintenance was necessary in a safe and secluded cove or inlet. The ship was placed in such a way that the hull was exposed at low tide. Barnacles, weeds, molds and other attachments that created drag on the hull surface were scraped off. Planks that were deteriorated due to teredo worms, rot, battle scars were replaced and the renewed hull has frequent blankets of tar, sulfur and tallow to prevent to redo it.

Types of Pirate Ships
There were several styles and designs of pirate ships. Some of these are:

• The Sloop style : these were small ships of about 100 tons and carried about 75 pirates
• The Brigantine style : these were 150 tons ships and carried about 100 pirates
• The Schooner style : these were 100 tons and carried about 75 pirates
• The Frigate or the Man-O-War style : these were 360 tons and carried about 190 pirates
• The Square-Rigger style : these were 90 tons and carried about 70 pirates

Common Pirate Ships
Some of the pirate ships are:

• Sloops
• Schooners
• Brigantines
• The Merchant Carrier
• The Dutch Fleut
• East Indiaman
• Galleons
• Galleys
• Junks

Sloops
This Caribbean and Atlantic pirates boat was a favorite small wonder boat created in huge numbers by expert builders in Jamaica. The length was 30 to 60 feet and the top speed of more than 10 knots. A group of 20 to 70 men could steer this. The weight was 100 tons and there were 15 cannons.

Schooners
This sleek American ship was created in the 1700s and had a narrow hull and a shallow draft of just 5 feet. A 75 man crew could be taken inland to hide or divide the spoils.

Brigantines
This was a two mast and shallow draft brigand ship and has good maneuverability and velocity. This was long, roomy, heavy and better manned than the smaller sloops and schooners. These were 80 to 100 feet long, 20 to 25 feet broad, 10 to 15 feet deep and the tonnage was 130 to 200 tons.

Some of the famous pirate ships are Queen's Anne's Revenge, Adventure Galley, The Revenge, The William, Fancy, Pearl, Victory,Fancy Royal James, Royal Fortune, Great Fortune and Great Ranger, Liberty and the Amity, Delivery, The Rising Sun, The Ranger, Jacob, Neptune and Margaret are some of the famous pirate ships.

Elizabethan Privateers
Elizabethan Privateers were given the authority by the government and sovereign to attack on the treasure ships of enemy countries. They were lawful pirates. 'Letters of marque' were given by the English government to these pirates. These letters authorised these sailors to rob enemy ships. The letters also prevented them from being charged with piracy. This is an offense that deserves death. Some famous Elizabethan pirate ships are as follows:

• The Pelican, renamed the Golden Hind
• The Falcon, donated the 'Ark Royal' to the Navy
• The Dainty, the Swallow
• The Gabriel
• Anne Ager, The Raleigh, the Swallow and the Squirrel
• The Victory
• The Revenge, Tiger, Roebuck, Lion, Elizabeth and Dorothy John Hawkins

Queen Anne's Revenge is Blackbeard's ship also called as the Concord. This was built by the British and captured by the French in battle. Later, it was converted to a slave-ship. Pirate Benjamin Hornigold recaptured it and used it as a pirate ship. He handed it over to Edward Treach who became the captain of the ship. Blackbeard added 40 cannons to this ship. This ship faced a wreck.