I have a copy of the rules for this game but I have never played, so I was wondering if there was anyone out there interested in giving a newbie a chance to try out this game?

I'm not familiar with this game, but I've been looking for an opportunity to expand my horizons beyond 1e ADD, so I'd certainly be up for this, if you're not already sick of me! :)

Is that the old Avalon Hill  war game?

Yes.

my brother and I played  that..i was a big fan of thier tactical games.Richthofen's War..Tobruk..Submarine..and Woodenships and Irohnmen.

  we  tweaks  some of the boarding party rules , so you could send blocks instead of whole sections

 Richthofen war a  wrote up a scenario for an airdrome  raid, with the attack and such based on WWI  Bios  i read.( and a few movies tossed in)..tried to get it into  thier Magazine 'The General", but  it never made it  by the  time  it died.

 I based my hit charts  i use in my games   to reflect 'real' outcomes, from  'sure hits'..to  'down right luck'
don't know how  we  could play those games here?

I was hoping to find someone familiar with the game that can play and teach me.  I am working on a home brewed system that covers the role playing side of a game set in this era and wanted to see if I could adapt the mechanics of Wooden Ships and Iron Men to handle the ship combat side of a game.  Also love wargaming so it kills two birds with one stone :)

way back in the early 80's  Avalon Hil had a  issue of the  General, for Play-by-Mail  for RW. They had a list of people (small)  who wanted to try in. It took 2  months  of  letters back and  forth you would have to match the  hexes  up.. make use  you listed the   details  ...step  by step..of your aircraft's movements, since many of them have  differant turn schedules..

 needless to say, the PBM  didn't last  2 full turns. I never got  an answer back for  by second  turn!( 3 months from start).

anyway?  For  in here. I have a makeshift chart, i used RW  to give  me a frame work , the   put the numbers  down  as i thought they would be. adding  in Critical hits and  such.

 I do 90% of the dice  rolls, off  board to try to keep the  game   like a book or movie, but now  and then i have them roll when my roll for them was really bad, or its a 'big moment'. They all know, their roll stands  no matter what..it keeps them guessing, and  no one, not even I know who could die.

  anyway... for the  WS&IM.., the intricate moves of the ship... what can of shot you loaded, Boarding  action and that can be handled  by   making it  a bit more simple. Reading  Books  Like  'Hornblowwer".  Alexander Kent, and  a off beat, 'down and  dirty' hero  'Fox'. you get some kind of feel for the  thoughts , and effects on the ships that  'backing Sails"  and  turning into the  wind, and even 'stealing  the wind" from your enemy.

anyway, the  important thig to remember is,  Table top is great, because everyone is there.... to play  any game, in PBP, you have to  tweak it to make it   player and GM friendly, which may mean 'dummy down' some aspects, an creating  your own augmentation. In the  end, the most important, is  when you adapt a game like this, You make it your own, and let the players  come in.

 a Sidebar, My brother  and I played these games like crazy until we stepped into  Fantasy.  I even Liked AH's  Starship Troopers. we had to tweak that abit to make it  more playable..we  turned   RW into a RPG ( we didn't know what an RPG was, it was just aan offshot  of what we  did with army guys when we were a lot younger)... we had Pilots Names, they all had  characteristics... from the  reams of books i read, there were  VERY  few pilots who used parachutes.. we used those to keep PCs  alive ..BUT..there was a forced Landing rule  on the charts. if you died trying to force land..you were dead.

 It would be easy enough, to have a  Ship ( like my space game)  where  the characters   are all on board, it would have to be a frigate, or a ship of  the Line. You would have to have  some change  that  excepted  women  in all ranks . and they could  RP  between   missions, sailign and shore leave.

ok!  I'll stop now!