As previously mentioned, I am installing a detailed PE deck on my boat. The deck is extraordinarily detailed, and is made of thin 0.008" brass and as such needs support and a way to raise it to the correct height. (The kit plastic deck is MUCH thicker.) I calculated that a roughly 0.060" raise should do the trick. The PE deck instructions call for adding support beams below the PE deck to support it... but there are very few places that I can put support beams below the deck and not have any holes blocked off.
On another site, I saw a U-505 build where the fellow cut up the kit deck to act as the support below the same PE deck. Good idea, but a lot of grunt work, and he encountered some problems. This gave me the initial thought about creating a substructure... but how to cut it out?!? That's when I happened across a company... not far from me... that can do laser-cutting from vector files. Hmmmmmmmm, interesting! 
So I have been working on creating 1:1 scale support structures for the PE deck set. A LOT of measuring, and vector work using CorelDRAW (as I have used for other U-boat projects). So far I have completed 3 of the 4 substructures, and the last one should only take a few hours to create from scratch. These vector files will be sent to the laser-cutting company in the New Year along with some sheets of 0.060" sheet styrene. They said that it SHOULD work out well, but I will be holding my breath and crossing various appendages while they do the work.
Well, I have changed my plan of attack for the underdeck support.
Originally I had thought of making a 0.060" thick support and put the PE deck directly atop that. Well, in designing that support layer, I found that there would be too little support in a lot of the areas.
SO.......... I have totally redesigned the support layers for each deck section.
I have cut out the areas that need to be cut out to represent drainage, but left a lot more material in place for strength.
That layer will be only 0.040" thick.
The trick now is that I will add ribs on that support layer, and then the PE deck will lay atop the ribs. The ribs can be placed so they are not seen under the PE deck.
This should make everything look like the real structure, with drainage holes arranged accordingly.
There are a few places that I have contacted to have the support layers cut... either by laser or by CNC milling.
It will be more effort to add the ribs (0.022 x 0.044"), but I think this is a better approach.
