I dont know how complicated a railgun would actually be, but the simplicity of chemical firearms must have advantages. I wonder if it would be possible to devise some type of an AB component mixture that would be basically inert until its loaded into the breech to negate the volatility of the magazine storage.
Another thing that comes to mind is if ships could be armored with something like the Chobram (sp?) used on the Abrams tank. Something that would increase the survivability of the hull without adding the weight of hardened steel.