Why Going Merry over Baratie?

Going Merry boosts captain's HP by 100, but Baratie boosts captain's HP by 500. The FAQ says to use Going Merry and that it's a staple, but I can't see why if the Baratie is 5x better. Does upgrading the Merry eventually have some bonus that is better than Baratie?

Going Merry starts getting a damage boost alongside the little hp bonus starting at level 6. And it doesn't seem like +2000 HP will help that much later in the game.

Early game, Baratie will be more useful due to the extra HP.  Once you have your team leveled up, the extra HP won't be as bid a thing.  For example.  If you run an Asura Zolo Team with an Asura Zolo friend.  You will get 4 x ATK and 4x HP.  If we are talking later in the game, zolo is probably close to max level meaning he have over 2000 hp.  This times 4 is 8000 HP.  Add in your friend and you are over 16000 HP without counting the other members of your party.  At that point, 2000HP from Baratie is kind of pointless when you look at the 1.5x damage boost from Merry.  That changes your 4x to 6x, which makes this almost on par with the dual 2.5x lead.

Just my two cents.