Farming for Metal?

[Zydrate]

I beat the game and am on the Sandboxing mode and I want to sail the seas and max out some of my weapons.
This endeavor will cost me hundreds of metal. And thousands of monies, which I can probably get pretty easily at this point.

Problem is, I'm sailing "hard" waters and haven't run into a lot of metal-carrying Man O' Wars.

I'm wondering if there's a system, or if it's just all random?

[abalian]

The ship cargo depends on where the ship is from and that country's main export(s). For example, Spain ships are rich in sugar and wood (been a while, I could very wrong).

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Look through spy-glass for ship details.

Board the ship to get more resources compared to just sinking it.

Look for the English Man O Wars.

Try a different section of waters. Like near/around Kingston.

[Dominion]

Bad-Motha is right on. Never sink, always board and try different areas.