How To Play The Hunter?

I would like to get really, really, absurdly good with the default ship.

- What is your *general* advice? What am I hoping to *do* with the Hunter? - the Hunter's speed boost from dropping shields is higher than that of enemy ships. How bad is it to drop shields in the middle of a firefight, to escape? - The three-guns-forward design of the Hunter is cool, but requires three gunners to make full use of it, making us more vulnerable to boarders. How do I get the full benefit of three forward guns in practice, not just in theory? - Is there ever a time when I would want to take fights "backwards," with the stern facing the enemy? - is there a reference/wiki anywhere for gun data? - what would a "master Hunter player" do, that I am not doing?