I was disappointed in what could be done: a 1916 fast armoured cruiser

First, I tried a 1912 fast armoured cruiser and then one for 1916. The prominent feature of the 1916 design is a 33-knot speed. It also has 8-10in guns as the main armament. My impression is that the design is "underperforming" and I cannot pinpoint the cause. I may be putting too much into protection and machinery and not enough into armament. This is the Springsharp report:

GB/CA/1916, Great Britain Armoured Cruiser laid down 1916

Displacement:
 27,496 t light; 28,463 t standard; 30,400 t normal; 31,950 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 767.17 ft / 765.00 ft x 88.00 ft x 27.00 ft (normal load)
 233.83 m / 233.17 m x 26.82 m  x 8.23 m

Armament:
      8 - 10.00" / 254 mm guns (4x2 guns), 500.00lbs / 226.80kg shells, 1916 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 3 raised mounts - superfiring
      14 - 5.50" / 140 mm guns in single mounts, 83.19lbs / 37.73kg shells, 1916 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, evenly spread, 4 raised mounts
 Weight of broadside 5,165 lbs / 2,343 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 120

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 560.00 ft / 170.69 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 113 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 560.00 ft / 170.69 m 23.00 ft / 7.01 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  9.00" / 229 mm
 2nd: 6.00" / 152 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  6.00" / 152 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 9.00" / 229 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 181,733 shp / 135,573 Kw = 33.00 kts
 Range 5,800nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,487 tons

Complement:
 1,150 - 1,496

Cost:
 £4.013 million / $16.053 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 646 tons, 2.1 %
 Armour: 9,239 tons, 30.4 %
    - Belts: 3,555 tons, 11.7 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 953 tons, 3.1 %
    - Armament: 1,847 tons, 6.1 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,695 tons, 8.9 %
    - Conning Tower: 189 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 6,771 tons, 22.3 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 10,841 tons, 35.7 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,904 tons, 9.6 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   39,485 lbs / 17,910 Kg = 79.0 x 10.0 " / 254 mm shells or 5.0 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.17
 Metacentric height 5.6 ft / 1.7 m
 Roll period: 15.7 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 53 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.39
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.06

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.585
 Length to Beam Ratio: 8.69 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 27.66 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 56 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  31.00 ft / 9.45 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Mid (67 %):  27.00 ft / 8.23 m (19.00 ft / 5.79 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Stern:  19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Average freeboard: 24.68 ft / 7.52 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 115.1 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 199.4 %
 Waterplane Area: 48,567 Square feet or 4,512 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 109 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 151 lbs/sq ft or 737 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.99
  - Longitudinal: 1.10
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent