I'm a big fan of bow shots, as the momentum of the ship drives it under. I've never failed to sink a small ship with a bow shot. I have seen them settle on their stern though, when I suspect they are able to control the flooding. It is unrealistic for a small ship to be tougher. Proportionally, they may be stronger than a larger ship, but proportionally, the same explosive charge should also do much more damage. A 15' hole in a 150' ship is 10% of its length, in a 75' ship you're looking at 20%. Volume-wise, the difference is bound to be even larger proportionally.
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