Merchant Galleon Class

The Trade Galleon Class is a family of ship designs featured in Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004). It includes the Trade Galleon, Royal Galleon, and Treasure Galleon. As is is the case for all ship types in the game, All three of these Ship Types share the same physical appearance, and have similar characteristics. Like all Galleons, they are used exclusively by the Spanish, in much the same way that the Fluyt Class is used summararily by the Dutch.

The Trade Galleon Class has the notable distinction of having the largest and most heavily-armored ships in the game in its class, and differs from other trading ships - the Barque Class, Merchantman Class, and Fluyt Class - in that Trade Galleon Class of ships boast superior firepower - equal to that of the Combat Galleon Class - and have massive amounts of Crew. This is offset by them having the least maneuverability of any ship, though they have a surprisingly high top-end speed once they get going. They are arguably the slowest ships in the entire game when Close-Hauled.

They are notably the largest vessels in the entire game - the Trade Galleon is a bit bigger than the East Indiaman or West Indiaman, the Royal Galleon is about the size of the War Galleon, and the the mighty Treasure Galleon is the largest ship in the entire game. Whilst they are not normally considered desirable combat vessels or Flagships, a surprisingly large number of players favor them, due to their heavy armor, huge number of guns, and massive cargo-hauling capacity, which somewhat-alleviates the need for support transports.

Description
The Merchant Galleon Class is a set of three Ship Types. Collectively, they are known as "Merchant Galleons", and sometimes simply as "Galleons".

Each of the three ship types is referred to as a "Variant" of the Combat Galleon Class.
 * The Smallest Variant is called a Trade Galleon.
 * The Mid-sized Variant is called a Royal Galleon.
 * The Largest Variant is called a Treasure Galleon

Although all variants share the same 3D model, they can be distinguished by size. The Trade Galleon is the smallest of these, slightly bigger than a Fast Galleon. The Treasure Galleon is the largest of the three, and is, in fact, the game's largest vessel. As is the case for the Combat Galleon Class, the smallest Merchant Galleon - the Trade Galleon - is the fastest and most manuverable, but holds the least Cargo, Crew, and Cannons. The Treasure Galleon is the largest, with the biggest capacity, but is the slowest and least-manuverable, with the Royal Galleon striking a happy medium between the two.

Visual Appearance
Merchant Galleon Class ships are especially-large-sized trade vessels with square sails and two primary masts. They are notable for their sheer size; even the smallest one is slightly larger than a Frigate or Fast Galleon.

In spite of a very different profile, with a longer bow, the Merchant Galleons are incredibly easy to identify via their massive square sails and reinforced appearance. The Ship has a distinctive, light-colored hull, which, as is the case for the Combat Galleon Class, often has a lavishly-decorated aft. The fact that the Merchant Galleons are all massive vessels makes them even more distinctive, especially the massive Treasure Galleon.

Sailing Properties
Though extremely sluggish, the Merchant Galleon Class is a bit more accessible towards sub-optimal winds than the Combat Galleon Class, owing mostly to its massive sails allowing for easier catching of the wind. As is the case for most Galleons, it does best at angles close to Running Broad Reach. Also, like the Combat Galleons, they are slow to accelerate, but boast a rather impressive top-speed, especially for a vessel of its size. Taking advantage of storms and similar weather features goes from an interesting quirk to a necessary part of maneuvering with these juggernauts. Like all Galleons, it does extremely poorly when put off its Best Sailing Point, and effectively can become dead in the water against a strong headwind if not carefully managed. As is the case for a Combat Galleon, careful course-adjustments are necessary to maximize the wind caught by the ship's sails without sacrificing vital momentum as you move forward. Because they are a bit easier to catch wind on, however, the Merchant Galleon class can generally be counted on to sail in less-than-optimal wind, whereas the Combat Galleons, being more focused on maneuvering than ease of deployment, struggle a bit harder at this.

Combat Properties
To be Added.