Why sink ships?

[Cattatra]

Is there a benefit from sinking, or selling, ships? Why wouldnt I want a huge fleet?

[CHE]

Some reasons I can think of for sinking them include:

it might spread out your crew so much that you'll lose the next battle;
also, getting an extra ship (at least if it is damaged) might slow you down at a time when speed is important (e.g. to catch up with ships you are escroting or ships you want to attack, or to escape enemy ships that seem too powerful)....

[Gäußer Im Häußer]

Sinking is also helpful if you want to earn promotions quickly. I like to keep maybe two ships, my flag ship and a Spanish Trade Galleon for cargo storage. This is because you don't want a lot of crew that's spread out among a whole fleet because you need more food and gold to keep them happy. Selling ships is an easy way to make money, for example: I am an English Marquis (or something else, I don't remember the exact promotion that gives you free repairs. If you don't have free repairs, and you're going to sell a ship, don't bother repairing it) and I capture two Spanish Trade Galleons and one Treasure Galleon. The Trade Galleons carry a lot of cargo, and they tend to carry a lot of sugar and spices around St. Kitts, one of the best cities to sell them in. Sell my cargo and all the food and cannons I don't need, then just sell the extra ships.

The biggest reason to sell them really is that they just don't do anything for you but spread out your crew. You should need that much room for cargo, and if you do for food, you have too much crew. Only your flag ship participates in battles, so what's the point in a fleet. At least make a profit.

[DOFHarambe]

If it's not a frigate... sink it! Well... unless you like the merchant ships and cargo ships. Booty for the Cap'n!

[Kayeka]

Nothing wrong with one or two pack mules in addition to your flag ship. Preferably one that can serve as a spare flagship if you are the not the Quicksave/load type. An entire fleet, however, is a waste of perfectly good crew and money.

Either sink any excess ships, or sell them in the nearest port if they happen to be particularly valuable, such as frigates and higher-end galleons.