Boarding Pike

Background

One might not imagine now, but a boarding pike was a very effective weapon in early Naval Warfare. Averaging about eight feet long they were usually stored in beckets around the mast for easy access.

Early flintlock guns were not very reliable and were considerably more cumbersome to reload. Melee weapons like a boarding pike along with cutlasses, boarding axe were very useful for boarding enemy ships or repelling boarders as well.