The 4 " fore and aft of the superstructure are on the deck. The 5.5" on the sides are partially recessed into the hull, with sponsons to bring them out to clear it. They aren't fully on sponsons. It is supposed to be an arrangement similar to what the Hermes had.
ok, I did a quick-n-dirty cross section
This is supposed to be what she looks like from bow on, at just forward of midships. The darker gray is the original Saturn hull, the lighter gray is that which was added on.
So, I have a question for you shading experts, how do I shade that section above the original hull to show that it carries out further? (did I phrase that right?)