Later galleys, especially those favored by the Barbary Corsairs and Knights of Malta, possessed a single tier for slaves who sat and slept on benches that measured about ten feet by four feet. Up to six men per oar rowed the corsairs' galleys while the knights used seven. Although similar in design, the Christian galleys had raised forecastles to permit the knights to jump down onto their enemy's lower deck. Both groups attached battering rams to their prows to smash an enemy vessel, after which they boarded her and fought hand-to-hand to subdue their victims. Whereas corsairs used one lateen sail (a narrow triangular sail attached to a long yard) the knights favored two. Both adorned their sterns with gilded figurines.
Saxons favored flat-bottomed ships that allowed them to navigate shallow rivers to launch surprise attacks. Vikings, who strengthened the keels of their longboats, also used this technique. Swift and maneuverable, they could also be transported over land. Grace O'Malley, an Irish pirate, and James IV of Scotland still used galleys in the sixteenth century.
The switch from oars to sails began in medieval times. In the beginning, pirates converted merchant ships to meet their needs. Around 1400, English pirates favored nefs with "castles" or high fighting decks at the prow and stern. Early privateers used small ships such as the barque (50-100 tons, 40-50 men, and three masts). Later they switched to larger merchant ships (usually 100-300 tons). Even with the extra space they remained crowded because they carried extra crews to man the captured prizes. The longer, sleeker hulls made the ships more maneuverable.
Ketches, with a square sail on the mainmast, were popular in the Caribbean. The only direction these coastal vessels couldn't sail was directly into the wind. The bowsprit measured almost half as long as the hull, whose planks were butted tightly together rather than overlapped to reduce friction between ship and water.
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