Uncharted Waters: New Horizons

For a cheap Crusader Sword, go to Timbuktu, enter the inn and sleep until 2:00am (say NO when you're asked if you want to wake at 8:00am.) When you wake up, go to the Weapons Shop and purchase your sword for 36 ingots -- 24 less than anywhere else.

For easy money, deposit all your cash in the bank near the end of the month, then sleep until the first of the next month. Now go get your cash!

To get the best figurehead, go to Hamburg and invest until you hit 1000. Then go into the shipyard at either 4:00 AM or PM, (I can't remember), you can get the Angel figurehead, which is 40,500 gold pieces.

To get the best kind of guns, go to Antwerp and invest in the shipyard until it's at 1000. Now not only will you be able to build Full-Rigged Ships, and Frigates, but also if you go there at 4:00 AM you can buy the Carronade, a kind of gun with the fire power of the cannon and the range of the Culverin. It costs 600 gold pieces per gun.

Invest in Algiers and Argin at their shipyards (8000 Gold) You'll then be able to get the heavy galleons. Search out Singleton and beat him, then every other battle you engage in you will automaticly win every other battle.