You will need the Reference Data to view the files correctly: HERE

Once you have them, look for the files in the GameInfo folder which start with:
FrigateTech~~~~~~~~~.ENTITY
and
CAPITALSHIP_TECH~~~~~~~~~~~~~.ENTITY

Each one is a different ship, and inside is where you edit most of their stats, etc. The numbers and references are usually self explanatory. Just change something and test it to see if it works, and what it changes.

As much as we like to see more potential modders, general questions like this, well, are frowned upon, by me anyway. There is now two extensive tutorials available on the downloads page, have a look through them, and get the basics. You will learn what you are doing them, not just following instructions.

Sorry to come over a bit forward, but recently I've seen numerous 'general' questions that take moments to write, but a lot longer to reply to in any depth.

Honestly, it's all really, incredibly self-explanatory with a few exceptions. It seems like a lot of garbled crap at first, but just sit down and read through things and it will all make sense really quickly. The .pdf files that are included with the original forge tool set are very helpful. It's easiest to learn by just asking general questions (How much damage does an advent scout ship do per volley?) and then just trying to find the answer by looking through the files. You'll get the feel for it real quick, I promise.

Rofl, I suck at tutorials too, so I know what you mean! I usually end up writing WAY more than I should and make it overly complicated.

thanks for the help