Why weren’t cannons on wooden ships aimed downwards to destroy the keel?

Question

I’m sure the answer will be obvious, but would have guessed sinking would have been beneficial over just destroying a ships sailing ability. At least from what I’ve been able to find.

In: 21

Answer 1

Cannonballs actually have shitty (relatively) penetrating power due to their shape (a ball instead of a conical bullet) so just a bit of water would make it much less effective at damaging the ship.

Plus as other said – you would want to capture the ship if possible, even if just to plunder it for goods instead of sinking it.