The Pilot’s Book · Sea and sailing
The crew and morale
Morale tends to 70. Hunger, curses and black storms lower it, rum raises it. High spirits load faster and board harder; low ones slow everything.
The crew window («The Company») shows the hands aboard, your army's stacks and «Morale». It drifts towards 70: +8 with rum in the hold, down to 25 with no food, lower still with cursed relics and on long voyages. 
80 and up — «inspired»: reload −10 %, boarding +10 %. Below 50 the guns reload slower and repairs go worse; below 30 the icon «Low morale» appears; below 15 the crew refuse to board. Low morale and low loyalty together lead to mutiny. 
Hands are hired in the «Tavern». Keep the crew above the ship's minimum: fewer hands mean slower repairs and slower guns. In panic (morale 15–29) some sailors desert when you dock.
See also
Ship's storesProvisions feed the crew, sailcloth mends the sails, planks mend the hull. They are light, every harbour sells them, and they cannot be sold.4 steps
Buffs and debuffsThe icons by the portrait are everything working on you now, the bad ones first, with the time left as a ring. Tap one for its card.3 steps
Morale, luck and the twenty roundsGood morale may give a stack another turn, bad morale may freeze it; luck doubles a blow. After round 20 the side with more of its strength left wins.3 steps