Originally posted by elephantinc
When baking AO maps should I use shadows? Without them it seems to be all white but with them I dont think it would work with animation
No. Ambient occlusion is a visual representation of how the light "bleeds" into areas that are in shadow. More info can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_occlusion White means completely lit, black means light cannot reach it.
Originally posted by elephantinc
also, what causes this change in colour along the hull and how can I get rid of it?
Check the normals and uvs. You might have an issue there.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.