Our experience was that a player who got a good draw on the opening shot dominated the battle, much more so than in engagements using larger ships. In fact, a few of the engagements were limited to the opening shots, then the more heavily damaged ship fleeing. In fact, once, we had a ship rake an opponent with the double shot, raking, opening shot bonuses. Of course that should be bad, but that bad?

I think by reducing the effectiveness of the smaller ship' draws, it reflects the reduced likelihood of a 6 pounder doing a "6" in damage. If a "2" becomes a "0", it doesn't necessarily mean you missed, maybe it just shows an irrelevant hit ("her sides were made of iron").