Does characters special abilities work? (Skills cards which affect range, magic, combat? ) Can you aim? Can a canon hit be dogded?

My guess is yes. The cannons are effectively like a weapon. All special abilities and actions act the same (i.e. if you're manning a cannon, you still have to declare Advance or Battle, etc).

-shnar

so if the hero dodges the boat could also dodge? Wouldn't that be really weird??

No more or less weird than one dodging beastman making an entire Blast 3 miss. Remember: it's a board game, not a reality engine.

James McMurray said:

you are absolutely right!