I have been thinking about doing a set for Titanic.  I envision a sort of whole stage teeter-totter with counter weights and bracing blocks.  Just think... 42' feet of sinking ship. 

Since we could not attach to the floor or the ceiling, I developed a free-standing hinged platform. The bottom bracing ran the full 20 feet and held the hydraulic lift and the hinge bolts (from a dump truck). The top was a series of 4x8 platforms supported on 20 foot long 2x12s. The 3 phase lift took it up about 13 feet in the air--enough that actors were REALLY having to struggle to stay on--maybe 30-35 degrees. I put linoleum on the deck to avoid splinters.

42 feet is a really big stage and it's going to have to go up really high to give a scary effect. I'd be nervous about that. I used high sloping walls to frame the upper platform (which was there the whole show) so that the 20feet stil looked big on our 28 foot proscenium opening. You might want to whittle that down a bit.

I've got a couple of pics of the set finished and of the underside during construction on facebook. Let me know who you are when you send a friend request in order to see my set design album and it might give you some ideas.

http://www.facebook.com/jim.manning2

This show was a huge success for us, but it's a monster to pull off, not only for the set, but also for costumes, music, and that many singing men on stage. Best of luck! Sail on!

I did a high-school production of Titanic last year. We created a Teeter-totter that was 30ft wide and about 8 ft. off the deck. It doubled as the bridge for the ship and as various other portions of the ship during the production. It was only 4ft wide. It had ship's rail along the down stage side. With no fly space in our theater it was a challenge to rig. We used 2 winches, one at each end, and we had escape steps off stage that acted as braces for the 3 different angle settings we used for various portions of the final sequence. The only time it moved "live" with actors on it was the very final sequence, when I was able to limit the actors to just a few, allowing for both ends to be free and all of the weight to be carried by the cables and the center pivot. Once we began the tipping sequences, we used a cut drop with a large circular hole in the middle to mask the rest of the set and reveal only the tipped deck, with no other vertical lines in sight - this enhanced the effect remarkably well. We masked the pivot tower and, when it was raised to its steepest angle, the effect was quite dramatic.  Happy to provide details. This was one of my favorite shows to produce/direct.

Getting close to this production... Would appreciate more ideas/details.