I was actually looking for this thread myself in order to incorporate a possible idea into it and maybe get some responses on what the majority of players would come to think about it.
A little while back I can't remember the specific date - a ton of us pirates took our sails to Kingshead in order to receive the limited time codes that the GM's were passing out. During this time I distinctively remember this one individual pirate repeating the topic of "Bringing back the Ship of the Line". Dispite sounding like a broken record, it made me think for awhile - and after taking some time to think about it I approached Stephen in a conversation that he probably doesn't remember (considering he's a pretty busy guy).
In this conversation I brought up the idea of having a system where a "guild" as a whole can contribute and maintain their own "Ship of the Line". Upgrades would be completed collectively through donations of materials and gold provided by it's guild members, you could even call it a "guild project" and would require a certain cool down time before being able to set sail again after it's already been used. In SVS, guilds could use their Ship of the Line as a "Trump Card" to attempt in changing the tide of how the battle is going - or perhaps the guild is interested in a giant loot run, in which the Ship of the Line would come in handy there.
I have read a few of the other players responses, but myself personally thinking about every individual pirate having their own Ship of the Line seems a tad bit overpowered, considering the value that ship has under it's name. Let me know what you guy's think I am interested to here everyone's views on it.