...

The Ion Disrupter and Ion Cannon weapons of the Boron not only do high shield damage but also have high chances to destroy weapons and equipment allowing the player to strip a target ship down to a defenceless hull.   This is recommended if trying to board Rapid Response ships as destroying the Jumpdrive prevents the ships from fleeing when their shields run low and destruction of the Cargo Lifesupport removes Lifesupport System removes any enemy personnel (which tend to have high skills).   Skilled players can even perform the softening of targets using some support TM ships (Angel, Pleco and Magnetar), otherwise use Argon Eclipse/Centaur or Boron Mako/Skate/Thresher ships.

Spacewalk Boarding

...

For players not doing the Suicidal Squid starting scenario it is advised to have at least 5-9 Salvage Insurance to be able to save at key moments of a boarding operation on the off chance something goes wrong and a reload is needed.   For most ships saves 3-8 can be skipped but for Xenon ships it is recommended.

1. The Approach: Save once the player has gotten within range of the target but before opening fire (in case it becomes a good idea to abandon the plan)
2. Ready to Board: Save once the target shields are down and before the personnel are launched for the boarding operation
3. Hull Contact Established: Save if all personnel make it to the hull.   This allows reloading until all personnel synchronise fighting on Deck 1 for lowest casualties (a must for Xenon ships). In X3: AP this is the only save that affects casualties on all decks 
4. Middle of Deck 1 (X3:TC Only): Too late to change the fate of those fighting on Deck 1 but the outcome of Deck 2 has not yet been determined
5. Middle of Deck 2 (X3:TC Only): Too late to change the fate of those fighting on Deck 2 but the outcome of Deck 3 has not yet been determined  
6. Middle of Deck 3 (X3:TC Only): Too late to change the fate of those fighting on Deck 3 but the outcome of Deck 4 has not yet been determined  
7. Middle of Deck 4 (X3:TC Only): Too late to change the fate of those fighting on Deck 4 but the outcome of Deck 5 has not yet been determined
8. We Are At The Computer Core: Save to be able to reroll what the new ship has ware wise once ownership is transferred (good for getting Jump Beacons)
9. Victory: Save once both the captured ship and player ship are evacuated to a safe location    

...

Boarding Resolution Algorithms

...

Cutting The Hull

First contact of the personnel to the hull of the target ship causes a 5% Race Rank point loss followed by an additional -50,000 points.   Hull cutting is performed in groups using the same formula as used for determining the number of boarding pods launched.

...

...