Add dead in water feature

[BlouBulle]

Add a feature that when crew is down on hit points you can launch rafts and try and row out (basically, in line battles when your team is winning and you have a good, high quality crew but your ship is either taking a lot of water or you don't have masts you can get out of the battle while the going is good (the enemy may sink your empty ship but I doubt it if they are losing and your crew is thereon safe!).

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

I believe this is already simulated to some degree, as ships are able to turn without any headway and even with every sail shot off you can still move at a very slow pace.

[Edward Pellew]

Cool.

[Daniel Alessi]

I'm positive he means that we want an option to launch rafts... make it optional.

[Black Dynamite]

Maybe not launch rafts but I do like the idea of a ship being dead in the water. Some of the larger line ships were almost impossible to sink because of their buoyancy .

[Stormfox]

I guess some rubble in the water with survivors holding on to it, would also be a nice addition 

[Robert Danforth]

Would nice to be able to kedge if my masts are all down, though.

[Hugh Latham]

You can only kedge when your anchor rode can reach bottom at sufficient angle to draw upon. Usually boats were lowered and oars manned. This is how the Constitution escaped a gank when becalmed.

[Crankey]

Unfortunately due to the risk of excessive crew injury from flying splinters, most sensible captains would tow their boats behind them during a battle and cast them adrift if they needed to.

 

If you had already been in the thick of battle, would it be likely you had sufficient boats left ? Many boats seen in pictorial images of battles would have been from supporting frigates who move in to offer support, rescue survivors in the water and transfer crews between ships.