Since the last update, you can limit the length of the chains, which makes them a bit easier to control. If you want to build more complex designs, you have to be very careful that there are no connections of blocks to others that are not supposed to move. The more stress, the more likely the case of catastrophic failure. ;)
If you check the Sea Dragon or Maws of Doom, you can find mechanics with chains that actually worked kinda well. I've decreased the length of the chains after the last build, however, since they were prone to causing issues.

Talking about chains: I found a very cool design by fkfkfkup fk yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm-Ncs12nKs
I love the idea with the hinges - also solves the problem of not being able to fire cannons that are just connected via chains. Excellent design - love stuff like that!

I've experimented with rotors and all it did was break my ship apart - same with chains, they just freak out alot haha. Tried to make an anchor and it just broke off the ship in half

Yeah, exactly! It's not perfect designwise, since you need several buttons for the different shots, but it works well enough. Would have been cool to just have it spin and launch with just one button, but that's got too many problems for now. The new railgun-design adresses some issues, such as the swaying of the chamber which can lead to misfire. Still, it's a very fun build and works fine enough!

that looks really interesting, spins and launches a new payload?