Now, I changed the armament to something more conventional

I couldn't bring myself to go for a Hood-style layout for the "Super Fast Battlecruiser". I tried 8-14in BLR on the centerline, with one turret forward, one in the center, and two aft with one superfiring. The length and displacement had to rise more to keep a 40-knot speed. The freeboard remains unchanged, but very high. In good battlecruiser fashion, this ship can catch any smaller ship in a seaway and run from any ship that could outgun it. I can tell that my expertise with Springsharp has improved. Gavin, the Red Admiral in Wesworld, showed me some things about how to better use Springsharp, and that greatly helped. I found the documentation, alone, to be inadequate. Actually seeing someone's design helped me understand what to do.This is the Springsharp report for this latest increment (GB/CB/1921 Super Fast Mod.B):

GB/CB/1921 Super Fast Mod.A  Red Book, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1921 (Engine 1945)

Displacement:
 34,791 t light; 36,107 t standard; 38,100 t normal; 39,695 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 896.66 ft / 894.00 ft x 97.00 ft x 31.00 ft (normal load)
 273.30 m / 272.49 m x 29.57 m  x 9.45 m

Armament:
      2 - 14.00" / 356 mm guns (1x2 guns), 1,372.00lbs / 622.33kg shells, 1921 Model
   Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
   on centreline forward
      2 - 14.00" / 356 mm guns (1x2 guns), 1,372.00lbs / 622.33kg shells, 1921 Model
   Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
   on centreline amidships
      4 - 14.00" / 356 mm guns (2x2 guns), 1,372.00lbs / 622.33kg shells, 1921 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline, all aft, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      12 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns in single mounts, 62.50lbs / 28.35kg shells, 1921 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 11,726 lbs / 5,319 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 520.00 ft / 158.50 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 89 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.00" / 25 mm 520.00 ft / 158.50 m 29.00 ft / 8.84 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  6.00" / 152 mm
 2nd: 3.00" / 76 mm 3.00" / 76 mm  3.00" / 76 mm
 3rd: 3.00" / 76 mm 3.00" / 76 mm  3.00" / 76 mm

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 6 shafts, 405,739 shp / 302,681 Kw = 40.00 kts
 Range 7,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,588 tons

Complement:
 1,363 - 1,772

Cost:
 £9.885 million / $39.539 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,466 tons, 3.8 %
 Armour: 5,478 tons, 14.4 %
    - Belts: 1,599 tons, 4.2 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 558 tons, 1.5 %
    - Armament: 1,045 tons, 2.7 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,130 tons, 5.6 %
    - Conning Tower: 146 tons, 0.4 %
 Machinery: 10,246 tons, 26.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 17,601 tons, 46.2 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,309 tons, 8.7 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   35,207 lbs / 15,970 Kg = 25.7 x 14.0 " / 356 mm shells or 3.6 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.19
 Metacentric height 6.6 ft / 2.0 m
 Roll period: 15.8 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 52 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.64
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.03

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.496
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.22 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 29.90 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 59 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -1.00 ft / -0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  38.00 ft / 11.58 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 35.00 ft / 10.67 m
    - Mid (40 %):  35.00 ft / 10.67 m (27.00 ft / 8.23 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Stern:  27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Average freeboard: 30.44 ft / 9.28 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 145.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 237.0 %
 Waterplane Area: 57,571 Square feet or 5,349 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 101 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 195 lbs/sq ft or 952 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.59
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent