This idea just popped into my head so it's part half-baked and part speculation, but hear me out... The dry dock at Golden Sands:
There has been much speculation about this set piece (no insider tag here) from the highly requested ship-swap to the "that's just how they stored ships when in dry dock back then" (which it wasn't).
But what if that will be used for another highly requested feature?
Imagine this: you sail into Golden Sands and anchor near the docking piling. There are already two ships there in an alliance, but they're still taking on more crew. The three of you join into an alliance, totaling six worthy hands in total. You approach Sharon nervously, and hand over a chest of gold (embellishment, but this would be expensive). She smiles knowingly. She takes ownership of the three ships in the alliance (they sink) and she nods to you, and points to the ship you just bought for your crew...
The mighty Man-O-War!! This unwieldy yet powerful vessel is a force to be reckoned with on the seas, sporting four sails, six cannons split across multiple decks, and needing many hands to sail properly. A ship that almost requires 6-8 pirates to sail properly.
Ok, down to brass tax. You need to be in an alliance to purchase the man-o-war, and it would cost 250k, 500k, or even 1M each time. This is a long term investment, so if you're going to sail on her you'd better plan on a long session. The one who spends the money becomes the captain of course. Not that it really matters as there are no real captain advantages yet. It would be a real reason to start an alliance and to stay in one; it's a fearsome ship on the sea! The risk is that pirates and crews are free to leave the ship at their will, and adding a new crew to the roster would require being near Golden Sands and them joining your alliance, thus losing their ship and joining the man-o-war.
Of course, only eight crew or three ships could be in the alliance at one time, which leaves ship slots on the server to see your magnificence. It would work because you know there are reaper galleon crews that would relish the opportunity to fight and sink one of these behemoths so it's not giving the community an easy alliance server or private server mechanic. Plus there are always stealth plays by those sneaky solo sloopers and keg plays so even with three crews sharing the ship treasure it not yours until you turn it in.
Part suggestion, part speculation, part hope, but there you have it.
