I'm new to the forum, did a quick search for "UV Mapping" and didn't find much, so pardon me if this was discussed before...
Are any of you using 3D Design software to create construction templates for shaping your planks and other parts of your ship models? From what I understand of UV Mapping (Creating a 2D model of the the texture that will be applied to a 3D model) it sounds like something that would reduce the guesswork of 'shape and test-fit' planking as you bend it and taper it to assure square/level results on the model.