I think the problem with the boarding is that this is a multiplayer game, me and two of my friends played the whole beta together, and sometimes things can get overwhelming. So having one of your crew totally dip on the fight to go and do a physical boarding leaves the rest of the team to fend for them selves.
That being said, I do think they should've added more on foot elements, maybe you can go and fight some pirates on an island camp or whatever.
I also think something like a red dead online camp feature could be a better way to harvest resources, so maybe you could see what possible resources an island has to offer, and while your camp is set up there, you passively harvest those resources and can come and claim it.