Bark

Pirate Ship

Bark (or Barque) were light and fast ships with a shallow draft. Because of its small size and a specific design, the pirates favored and often used bark. It usually carried at least three masts. They were all rigged with the square sails, except on the mizzen-mast, which was rigged with the fore-and-aft sails. This type of ship was the most popular in the 19th century. An average capacity of a bark was 500 tons and she could carry up to 100 men. Barques were also designed with four or five masts, and those versions had much higher capacity. A bark was also mentioned as a general term for any small-sized ship.