Yep!
First you have to kill the crew, then you have to beat down the ship. Then you can use the rope on pirate ship to enter it - and you can start beating on the pirate.
Its a hard thing to solo, as the pirate shoots your ship faster than you shoot his. So, you might want to get 1-2 friends along as your crew on a gargoyle ship, so they can help fire cannons.
When pirate is almost dead, you can use rope to tie him down for to hand him in.