Welcome to BCC!
It's actually pretty simple to edit things like the strength of ships and weapons. For editing the ships strength, you'll need to edit the hardpoint. Use BCUT to do this (so as you don't make any errors).
1. Open BCUT
2. Select "Hardpoint Tweaker" under "BC Tools"
3. Load your hardpoint (usually *shipname*.py, and it will always be located in your scripts/ships/hardpoints folder).
From there you can change whatever you wish. If you have any specific hardpointing questions feel free to ask (this post is just kind of getting you started).
Now for editing pulse weapons, I don't think BCUT has a plugin for that, so you'll have to use notepad, just be careful at what you edit.
1. Open up your projectile script found in scripts/tactical/projectiles
2. Change the value under "def GetDamage()" to your liking.
You should be all set.