Gunboats also taught me about the power of an unexpected move. In press games, you can get a much better sense of what the other players might do, and even perfectly coordinate all your moves sometimes. You can do shit that doesn't exist in gunboat games like multi-player convoys.
But in a gunboat game, you just have to guess what the average player might do, or if you have a read on someone what that particular player might do, and so as a result, making a move that other players would never expect or account for can be really powerful, - moves that would be easy to counter, but only if predicted correctly.
Then, in press games, although it is easier to predict moves in some ways because of the communication, it is also possible to make really crazy moves when you coordinate with an ally - moves that don't even exist in gunboat games. Sometimes, these moves are extremely powerful because other players would never anticipate them (and thus counter them). Playing gunboat games really highlighted for me what kind of moves those might be.