A tactic, in various forms, known as fireships!

Pre-motorized boats are extremely hard to turn quickly or sharply. If you set a decoy boat on fire - at the last second such as with a flaming arrow, or a madman with a torch and good swimming skills (optional for success, non-optional for the madman’s survival) - the enemy will find it very hard to adjust from “This enemy ship needs to be boarded” to “Holy shit TURN LEFT TURN LEFT”