CARAVEL:
A small ship meant for trading and were used by the Spanish and Portuguese for exploration. Around 80 feet long.
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FRIGATE:
Frigate mean a type of warship which was only second in size to the Ship-of-the-Line (battleship - see below). Frigates were three-masted with a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. They had anywhere from 24 to 38 guns on her deck. They were faster than the ship-of-the-lines and were used for escort purposes. They were sometimes used to hunt pirates. Only a few pirates were ever in command of a frigate as most pirates would flee from a frigate.
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GALLEON:
Galleons were large ships meant for transporting cargo. Galleons were sluggish giants. The Spanish treasure fleets were made of these ships. Although they were sluggish, they weren't the easy target you would expect for they could carry heavy cannon which made attacking them difficult. They had two to three decks. Most had three masts. Some galleons sported 4 masts but these were an exception to the rule.
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MAN-O-WAR (SHIP-OF-THE-LINE)
These ships were the "heavy-guns" of the fleet. They resembled galleons in design, but had heavy fire-power with an average of 65 guns. It was not uncommon to have over 100 guns. They were around 1,000 tons and had 3 masts. Only the three major sea-powers of the time (Spain, England, and France) had many of these kind of ships.
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MERCHANT (PINK)
In the Atlantic the word pink was used to describe any small ship with a narrow stern. They were generally square-rigged and used as merchantmen and sometimes as warships. They were a favoritye target of the pirates of the Caribbean.
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Pirates prized power and speed in their vessels. Three of the pirates favorite types of ships schown below. The speed and shallow draft of these ships enabled the pirates to hide in relative safety in shallower coastal waters where larger warships could not enter In such ships they could easily overtake and capture slow-moving and poorly-armed merchantmen.
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 SCHOONER
The Schooner has a narrow hull, two masts and is less than 100 tons. She is generally rigged with two large sails suspended from spars reaching from the top of the mast toward the stern. Other sails sometimes were added, including a large headsail attached to the bowsprit. She had a shallow draft which allowed her to remain in shallow coves waiting for her prey. The Schooner is very fast and large enough to carry a plentiful crew. It was a favorite among both pirates and smugglers.
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 SLOOP
The Sloop was fast, agile, and had a shallow draft. Her size could be as large as 100 tons. She was generally rigged with a large mainsail which was attached to a spar above, to the mast on its foremost edge, and to a long boom below. She could sport additional sails both square and lateen-rigged. She was used mainly in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Today's sailing Yacht is essentially a sloop.
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BRIGANTINE:
The brigantine was originally a small ship carrying both sails and oars. It was a favorite of Mediterranean pirates from whence it got its name. Italian word brigantino meant...brigand's ship. Later the ship referred to a two-masted sailing ship much greater sailing power.
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