I actually didn't like the broadside very much. It's a very cool looking weapon, but it's not very useful compared to some other options. I'm also not sure where to find extra ammo for it? It looks great sitting in my house though!
On a related note, that quest was one of my all time favorites for Fallout.
I think my favorites so far are a Lucky 10mm Pistol I found (Criticals happen at twice the rate and power), a Mighty Minigun (25% more damage), and The Last Minute (a unique Gauss Rifle you can get for completing the Old Guns quest in the Minutemen questline). Now, you're a truly lucky soul to get an explosive Plasma Gun. Damn.
And yeah, the quest for the Broadsider was really great. Forget the Ghouls at Repconn, the crew of the USS Constitution is way better.
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/big-giant-swords/
Irish Mike.
Learn from his wisdom.
Do not question the Crazy Eyes.