Tips on getting a new ship

[kae]

i've had the defiant now for a while, got good cannons on it and all the crew is full stars and very experienced. really want to try with a new and bigger ship. is there any situation that gets you a new ship, like finishing a quest or something? just wondering before i spend like 20,000 moneys on it...

[Du-Vu]

The faction quests all eventually will, but not until Act III. You don't really need one of each ship, but if you're thorough there are more than enough quests to buy them with plenty left over, if you just want to try something different.

[Zen]

Try buying the double bonzer cannon and start pillaging ships, easiest way to make money

[kae]

yeah i've been sinking ships and cashing in bounties. up to a fair sum. any recommendations for a ship? think i'm gonna try getting another one.

[Fendelphi]

I personally prefer the Dhow. It is fast on the world map and have a good amount of crew for boarding actions. It is not very expensive(compared to the other ships), both in terms of buying price and crew wagers(extra cannons means more crew, meaning a bigger drain on coin and supplies).
IMO, bigger ships is only worthwhile if you do the ship-shooting mini game, instead of boarding, and even then, you sacrifice turn and jibe speed. Or because you simply like the look of those bigger ships.

[ROE]

I can second the Dhow. It's fast and has a decent crew. Good roi.

[Fendelphi]

As for cannons(in case you want to do the occasional broadside), I will suggest Iron Thunderers early(you will get them as loot from bounties on several occasions, so you dont have to really buy them), later replaced by Royal Bronzers.
Good mix of range, damage and fire rate.

The Double Bronzer has a lot of firepower, but it is inaccurate(250-350m is it's accurate range, so anything above or below gets an accuracy penalty) and has a long reload time(8 turns), meaning you are waiting 1-2 turns between broadsides on the smaller ships. On the larger ships, the firerate fits ok, but it is easy for the enemy ship to maneuver away from your optimal range.