It does sound cool, but I personally found it doesn't really work since PCs replace physical stats with mental stats, and it kind of skews everything. I think that would work well in a campaign where the PCs went into the astral just for a session with their silver cords and then came back to the material plane. But for a planejammer kind of thing it got too confusing.
I wouldn't link it to the mental stats of the PC. Give the ship the stats, so that no matter the pilot it is the same. You can have a rogue modron jump on the helm and argue esoteric law to get you where you are going or have Night Hag pilot it using convoluted contracts. The navigator is like a spark plug to fire the engine of the ship.
My intent is that the engines will be specific and it takes a special vehicle proficiency to fly any given type of 'jammer helm.
My group’s Space Fantasy! setting does that, though we don’t get into the weeds. My Islands World setting is a bit more specific, and I’m working on an Aeronaut Artificer subclass that specializes in flight, energy weapons, and recharging magic items. Like the Armorer, they’ll eventually gain bonus infusions, because I’m also building “ship infusions” and basically treating ships as characters, which gain more infusions as they level, and have certain Emplacements for things like guns, improved maneuverability thrusters, sails, quick burst speed boosters, improved shield, etc.
I do think I will make ships into creatures a la the Avernus infernal machines. To what degree they are alive or sentient might vary by faction.
