Hi Don, the ships don’t quite turn on a dime, but it should be a bit more responsive than it sounds like you’re experiencing.
The ship you take into battle has a maximum number of cannons, you can have more, but of course some ships are better at fighting than others.
If you take too much damage in a fight, either in naval battles or sword fighting, you’ll lose, but your character should at least ‘surrender’ on screen after taking a few hits on low morale – after that, yes, you’ll have lost the battle and will suffer whatever outcome the game gives you
