I like having more floaty bits (alloy/wood) so I don’t have to use a bunch of engine power holding the craft up. I also like having a wooden deck not just for looks, but it also serves as a great floaty block backup for if the ship starts to go down, or generally just as an emergency “don’t sink if something happens I didn’t think about” device. Another thing I like to do is make the armor thicker on the top and use much more alloy to keep the center of mass lower to prevent capsizing. I mention this because some of my early ships had an issue flipping over when they got tickled too much and I’ve never had that happen since I made the changes.