1. 单桅纵帆船
由于帆的数量和船身大小的关系，商用单桅纵帆船的速度非常快，但由于他们较小的体积限制了他们不能携带大量的货物。所以它们经常被用来运送想黄金珠宝这样的小件的贵重物品。因为只有仅仅10门左右的加农炮，商用单桅纵帆船在游戏中的防御性比较差，所以应该避免和强大的船只对抗。正常情况下，单桅纵帆船应当利用他们机动灵活的特点快速的从敌人大型船只附近逃脱。由于其低廉的价格，它是玩家开局时很好的选择。
Because of the enormous amount of sail related to the ships size, merchant sloops were very fast, but due to their small size they couldn't take large amounts of cargo. So they were mostly used for carrying small precious items, like gold or diamonds. With just over 10 cannons, the merchant sloops in East India Company are lightly armed for defence against minor, so they should avoid a confrontation with serious enemies. In a thight situation, a sloop should try to outrun its enemy, using the ability to outmanoeuvre large vessels. Due to their cheap price, they are good ships to start with.
2.双桅纵帆船
双桅纵帆船的高船速决定了它很适合贸易和探索。特别是其数量众多的时候它们拥有足够多的轻型火炮来威胁贸易船队。这使得他们很适合海上劫掠活动并且很多海盗都有它组成小型舰队来快速袭击缺乏护卫的商船。
Schooners are fast ships that are well suited for trading and scouting. They have enough light cannons to be a threat to merchant ships, especially in large numbers. This makes them suitable for piracy and many pirates employ them as small fleets, quickly attacking lone cargo ships without escort.
3.军用快船
军用快船是最小的军舰。它的轻火力能在大型军舰上造成的伤害是微乎其微的。所有应避免和全副武装的商队接近。快速是它最大的优势，军用快船在搜索和对抗双桅纵帆船以及小型三桅船方面表现出色，所以它们经常成为海盗头子的首选。
Naval Cutters were the smallest warships. With their light cannons, the damage they could inflict on larger warships was minimal. Close contact with more heavily armed transports should be avoided. Their great speed was often their best advantage. Cutters were good vessels for scouting and competing against ships like Schooners or Xebecs that were often captained by pirates.
4.横帆双桅船
横帆双桅船是既可以做军舰又可以用来运输的多用途船只。他们在战斗中拥有良好的机动性以及轻巧的船身，但应该避免与护卫舰甚至是东印度商船直接对抗。作为商船，横帆双桅船有中等的货舱空间和与其相当快速，但它需要大量的船员来操纵。
Brigs are versatile ship that can be used as warships or transports. They are quite maneuverable and agile ships in battle but should not engage on one-on-one battles with frigate or even East Indiaman. As cargo ships, brigs have moderate cargo space and are relatively fast. They do require large crew to operate them.
