I will not pretend I know anything about this game or merchant construction, but from building sailboats I know this: Smaller is stronger! One example is the mast. The stresses of the mast increase by a factor of four with increase in length, making shorter masts less reliant on strong supports. A big merchant and a small merchant both have the same parts, like keels, ribs, skin and so on, but I donīt think the dimensions of the bigger merchant follow the rule of strenght - for example making the ship skin much thicker to have the same relative strenght of the smaller merchant. I know through experience that the short, simple gaff-rigged mast more often than not will outlast modern hightech carbon masts if subjected to stresses they are not designed for. Smaller is in many regards more robust. I suppose a torp under the keel is not in the design description for the merchants either
