How to Get Ships in Be a Pirate — Where to Buy and What You Need First

Quick answer

New ships are bought from the Shipwright at Starter Port, and what you need first is coins: dig up treasure and have the Treasure Broker at the port open it, or sink enemy boats for their loot. Your raft comes free in the tutorial; after that you buy the Dinghy, Sloop, Cutter, Junk and finally the Ironclad.

• Where: the Shipwright stand at Starter Port.
• What you need first: coins from opened treasure chests and sunken enemy boats.
• Endgame: the Ironclad, displayed at the Shipwright with 44 cannons, 170 cargo and 95% wave resistance.

Where you buy ships: the Shipwright at Starter Port

The Shipwright's stand at Starter Port is the shop for every ship after your raft. The tutorial walks you through it early: once you have a few coins, you buy the Dinghy there and a banner announces 'DINGHY UNLOCKED! Faster, sturdier and more cargo space!' — Old Finn then bolts a swivel gun onto it as your next objective.

The recorded first purchase, from the unlock banner to the swivel-gun fitting:

Watch the full guide on YouTube.

Your first ship is the exception. The raft is given, not sold: after you swim to shore and talk to Old Finn on Starter Island, the 'RAFT UNLOCKED! Your very first ship' banner appears and the tutorial sends you sailing. If you are standing boatless at the very start, finish those tutorial steps first — buying starts from the Dinghy onward.

The ship ladder, in purchase order

After the free raft, ships follow an increasing ladder, and each rung is a Shipwright purchase:

Ships in Be a Pirate and how you get them

Ship

Raft

How you get it

Given free during the tutorial after you talk to Old Finn on Starter Island.

Ship

Dinghy

How you get it

First purchase at the Shipwright; a swivel gun is fitted onto it right after.

Ship

Sloop

How you get it

The next Shipwright purchase — one recorded run bought it with about 2,800 coins on hand.

Ship

Cutter

How you get it

The rung after the Sloop: the same run bought it at about 8,000 coins on hand, and a quest objective points the way — 'Play the quest, buy a cutter.'

Ship

Junk

How you get it

The next rung of the ladder, again from the Shipwright.

Ship

Ironclad

How you get it

The endgame ship on display at the Shipwright: 41 speed, 5 acceleration, 13 turning, 170 cargo, 40 mod slots, 44 cannons, 36 crew and 95% wave resistance.

Ships in Be a Pirate and how you get them

Ship	How you get it
Raft	Given free during the tutorial after you talk to Old Finn on Starter Island.
Dinghy	First purchase at the Shipwright; a swivel gun is fitted onto it right after.
Sloop	The next Shipwright purchase — one recorded run bought it with about 2,800 coins on hand.
Cutter	The rung after the Sloop: the same run bought it at about 8,000 coins on hand, and a quest objective points the way — 'Play the quest, buy a cutter.'
Junk	The next rung of the ladder, again from the Shipwright.
Ironclad	The endgame ship on display at the Shipwright: 41 speed, 5 acceleration, 13 turning, 170 cargo, 40 mod slots, 44 cannons, 36 crew and 95% wave resistance.

The 2,800 and 8,000 figures are on-hand ballparks from that recorded run, not listed price tags, so treat them as rough checkpoints on the way to each hull.

What you need first: coins

Two routes reliably fill your balance:

1. Dig up treasure. Chests are buried on the islands — see where treasure spawns. Carry a chest to the Treasure Broker at Starter Port and have it opened, which pays out coins and items. The selling guide covers getting the most from your hauls.
2. Sink enemy boats. Hostile boats — the tutorial's Pirate Rowboat among them — shoot back, but sinking one drops its loot. The combat guide covers the fighting.

Two free top-ups at the port also help: claim the daily login rewards and the free pirate-pass rewards. They pad your balance every session you log in, which speeds up the next purchase.

Quests can also signpost the ladder for you — one objective reads 'Play the quest, buy a cutter' at exactly the stage where the Cutter is the next hull to save for.

Buying a new ship vs. upgrading the one you own

Purchasing and improving are separate interactions, both at the port. New hulls come from the Shipwright, while upgrading changes your current ship's speed, health and cannons at its own upgrade interaction. If you are short of the next ladder step, work the treasure-and-combat loop above — or see the ship upgrades guide to make the boat you already own stronger while you save.