Manual targeting for me is too weird for words, and I don't know if the real thing was like that - the stadimeter you place the upper image with the waterline touching the tops of the masts of the lower image?! All the rangefinders I ever used in real life had a side by side or over and under split image where you superimposed the two images so you only saw a single image and then read out the range.
That said, I've read here that the ranges are (1) wrong in the stock game, and (2) impossible to get at a distance depending on screen resolution since the masts aren't wide enough for a single pixel so the tops aren't visible. I would try one of the optical correction mods for that.
Best method, start by playing with manual targeting off and map updates on - but instead of loafing along with your mind in neutral while the computer does all the work, take notes and screenshots. What speed does this type of ship/convoy normally run at? When the range is 3000 yards how much of the periscope view does a medium split freighter fill in high power? How many hashmarks from the waterline to the top of the stack for a large tanker at 1000 yards in low power? Get a sight picture of what various ships look like at different AOB angles, take screenshots of perfect firing solutions so when you do start using manual the sight picture will nag at you when something is way off.
When you have all that down pat, turn manual targeting on but leave map contact updates on - do your stadimeter and AOB settings, then go to the map and use the tools to check how close you are to the correct numbers. Once you get to the point where the periscope observations and TDC inputs agree (within a reasonable value) with the measurements on the map, THEN try it without map contact updates.
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