Recently I had a small discussion with Swash Buckler about the definition of the term "Frigate"
Since then I began talking to people (my uncle happens to be a real captain) and looking things up (not on wiki :P ).

Conclusion :
There are no clear descriptions of the Term because over the years the meaning changed.
A Brigantine for example, they shortened the term to brig but even now there's discussion about a brig and brigantine not being the same type of vessel.

However there are general accepted definitions of the terms.

So I will add simple not too specific definitions here as far as that is possible.
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GALLEON

This is a ship with at least 3 masts and has multiple decks.
the last mast ( or two last if the galleon has 4 masts total) is always lateen rigged, meaning it has a tricorner sail on that mast.
very recognizable are the Forecastle and Stern(castle) which are elevated sections on the ship that provide more space for weaponry and cabins (stern)

The presence of a fore- and sterncastle is a good criterium to determine a ships' class.
However there are more ships with these characteristics such as the Carrack which is kind of the forerunner of the Galleon.
The main difference between those can be found in the forcastle,
a Galleon has a longer and lower forecastle then a Carrack which allowed it to carry heavier guns.
Carracks could sometimes have their forecastle as high as the stern, which is not the case in Galleons.
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okay, but, what is the name of the type og ships you and i mainly build, you know, with a cabin on the top deck and 2 or 3 mast'st, and alot of cannons?
frigate or ?
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Well, the cabin on the top deck implies "carrack" or a type of "galleon"
But there's also the sailplan to be considered.
a Frigate has only one cannon deck and is buit for speed so it has no cabin on top and no forecastle.
Have you ever heard the saying:
"A frigate can outrun what she can't outgun"

Now, your Mermaids Trident is a ship I can't really situate, it's either a galleon or a small class ship of the line. Either way it's missing a mast to qualify,
A galleon should have a third lateen rigged mast and a slower class ship of the line should have either a brig-sail attached to the main mast or a lateen rigged mast.
It comes closest to a lower class ship of the line as it lacks a forecastle. However those ships rarely had only 2 masts, rather 3 or 4 even.
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thanks for the nice and detailed answer =)
i had a feeling about that, it isnt really a class, when it only haves 2 masts,
but eitherway, i like em =)
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I always try to build historical accurate ships, so that I don't have this problem :D

My problem with building frigates is that they only have 1 guns deck, as Sebeus said before, so if I only have 1 deck and the main deck the captain's cabin must be in a weird place. I guess that to build frigates you need two interior decks (but only 1 with guns) and the main deck. I don't have enough parts to build ships of that size :(
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