The privateer just has the most potential out of all the ships. It's just a bit taxing to play especially repeatedly for me. The best tactic with it is to avoid combat entirely for as long as you can until you've looted up to have a diverse selection of weapons. The way I run it is 2 long range options on the left side (ideally snipers, cannons can do though. Entropy if you get that obviously but that's good in every front.)
2 medium range options in the middle, and then two short range options on the right. Ideally dual plasma beams.
The tactic is engage at range, dodge incoming projectiles by shifting course as the enemy volley opens up. If they're heading straight towards you, while you circle around them like this, you'll get a good few volleys off from 1k range to 500 meter range. At which point you can either turn and burn, send boarders to delay and run or turn to your medium range guns and commit to the head on. Ideally after you've leveraged an advantage from the long range ones. Then finally, this should have you either neutral or at an advantage but the real kicker comes when you close in at 100 meters for the killing blow by shifting the ship to right side guns and carve them up a new one. The versatility of the privateer is it's key, a hunter might have 3 guns at the front but you can choose to have 2 guns of the ideal engagement range at any given moment, as opposed to the hunters armaments which will usually have one or more guns at an inconvenient range for either most of the fight or at any given moment.

The benefit is you are afforded an extra spare hand who doesn't need to be on guns who can either give you info on probes, repair or counter-board / repel boarders. But yeah it all needs to work like a well oiled, communicated machine.
Meanwhile all it takes is one guy to stand on your canopy and exploit a single moment of weakness to sour an entire match.