Rope less would definitely work better in the case I was making.
What if it hit with the mass and inertia of a ship ram?
This would actually be pretty interesting. Not that it'd deal impact damage directly, but it would push the ship so it would deal to itself a decent amount. The amount it'd be pushed would diminish depending on range, yet it'd have a good range, 1000m or so. So you have a choice of how you want to make use of it. At range, dual Flak + Field Gun is still a better choice for a Galleon.
It'd be a positioning based weapon. Goldfishes would use ramming combined with a point blank shot to peel their armor and send them hurtling towards a cliff face. Spires could use it defensively as a knockback against charging ships, as well as a complement to explosive light weapons like a Flak and a Mortar.
I think it's a good idea.