Hey HQ,
Without more detail, I can't really help to smooth out the rough edges. Was boarding the ship an action sequence or a risk?
Was this your first game? The group's first game? The GM's first game?
That said, actions like this in 7th Sea play out a bit like a roller coaster. And yeah, if you are gathering dice for a risk that doesn't have much to it, or if you are new to the game, I suppose it can feel clunky. Though I'm not sure it really feels any clunkier than any other RPG I've ever played except that all of this is front loaded to some degree. Ultimately, your "approach" is really just "You want to do what? Roll this." Normally, ever player would repeat this for every action of every round. With 7th Sea, you just roll once and then count down through the group's raises. I guess it just depends on what your expectations are. Gathering dice does feel like it takes longer, but then the bottom drops out on the ride and off you go.
Tom