Could an Odin-class coastal-defense ship become a freighter?

How suitable were Germany's Odin-class coastal-defense ships for conversion into merchant vessels after the First World War?

They were plausible conversion candidates, although their tapered hulls limited cargo efficiency. The comparison with converted Flower-class sloops produces disagreement over which ships best suited ocean trading.

The German Odin-class ships combined broad hulls with internal space occupied by armament and torpedo equipment. Removing those fittings could release room for cargo, and their relatively simple machinery made conversion attractive. Fleet considers them good candidates for general-purpose tramp steamers among the warships available after the First World War. Clarke challenges that assessment because the hull narrows markedly below the waterline. Both positions allow that a converted ship would be less efficient than a purpose-built merchant vessel. Flower-class sloops provide a competing example: about sixty are said to have entered merchant service after the war. Their suitability for ocean trading is disputed, with the preference for Odin ultimately tied to a larger independently operated tramp steamer able to trade widely.