Naval/ Fleet composition question(s)

[Intranetusa]

cargo vessels were towed. same with captured vessels.

I doubt a wooden ship would towing another wooden ship.
Is that even possible with a ship that uses sails?
I mean, their cargo vessels were probably similar to merchanting/trade ships....they're just regular ships that are manned.

At Ecnomus the Romans had transport vessels besides their 350 warships. With (about) 700 ships it is considered as the biggest naval battle of all times

Probably the biggest naval battle in the Mediterranean in the 3rd century BCE. 350 warships for a total of 700 ships doesn't seem that many...and really can't qualify for the largest naval battle.
The wiki link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest...tle_in_history

Salamis 200 years earlier involved way more ships and more personnel.