Puckle guns, small little mini cannons affixed to your ship. If you dont know what i mean, you probably seen them on black flag.

Just slapping them on every ship isnt going to be fun and is going to be more restricted. I have an idea that could not only make use of then but also let you use them with less restrictions.

In simple terms, think of these as a trident mermaid staff but for ships.

1. You got to find them before you can use them. Check shipwrecks and any skeleton galleons you destroy. Can also get a ghostly varient from ghost fleets.

2. They have limited shots. Once depleted they will break and despawn.

3. They’re intended for crew over ship damage. However that does not make them useless for ship battles! Here is why… They can only make tier 1 holes and the holes wont get bigger the more you fire. However the knock back can interrupt patching holes just like blunder bomb shots do currently in game.

Puckle guns CANNOT damage masts. The reason for this is due to number 4.

4. Affix them anywhere there is space.
   Any wooden balcony either in your ship or on land can mount a puckle gun.
   That means front facing and back facing if needs be! They will be good as chaser cannons for hurting crew but they wont deal significant damage to a ship.

Perhaps mount them inbetween existing cannons for an intense broadside!

Summary)

Limited ammo, low hull damage geared towards dealing with crew. These items will need to be sought out and overall just adds a new option without flipping the whole script on its head.

Overall i believe these would be an interesting addition.