A Pinnace is also worse than a Longboat

- And can only carry 4 to 8 cannons! ...Not that that matters in Cantr
I agree that there should be more boats that don't need Steel, HOWEVER, there won't be. I have decreed so with my awesome powers (Unless of course, someone higher up says I need to

)
Why not, you ask? Steel may be hard to get, but it will be unfair to make non-steel boats that are actually worth manufacturing. We all hate the Longboat, sure, but in order to create a boat better than a Longboat, it will require more than just wood. Perhaps Wood and Cloth? Or, Wood and Iron? Or, Wood and dead person tied to your mast... *Cough*
The point I'm getting at, is, the boats need to be "fair". In some places, Cotton/Hemp Cloth is more rare than Iron, and Iron is more reasonable of a substitute, since it's needed for a lot of things.
When vehicles are changed into objects that need to be compiled (An example: The Road/Dirt Motorcycles), then Cloth will be needed for those boats with Masts (Including the Longboat), Iron will be required to make... something on them, and so will Steel. In other words, boats will be harder to make later on. You won't just need "Wood" and, but rather "Wood" and "Cloth" and "Iron" and "Steel" (But not for ALLL boats, pfft, I'm not that cruel. The boats will mainly stay the same. So if it only needs wood, it'll only need wood (and maybe cloth) when it's changed)
SO, to summarize: SUCK IT UP AND MAKE IRON.
And if you can't make Iron, hello? Start trade? No place ever started out with everything. Start small, and grow. It'll take time, but it'll be worth it.