1. Ball ammo.
2. Fire whenever possible.
3. Battle sail continually.

From the couple of solo games I've played and posted as AAR's it was basic rules all the way and I don't think the AI ships were ever at a major disadvantage beyond maneuvering around objects like shoals, islands or coastlines. There's nothing saying we can't change this later, but I'm inclined to start simple and build on the basics.

Scenario specific rules would change any of the above of course.