After years of reading and engaging in debates, I've come to the conclusion that, by definition, Creationists don't understand science otherwise they wouldn't be Creationists in the first place. They certainly wouldn't be trying to argue evidence for the science of Creation.
I think that the attempts over the last couple of decades to get Creationism taught in science classes have forced those with a poor understanding of science to engage in scientific debates. They're confronted with a jumble of jargon which they try to use in the same manner that scientists use it, but only succeed in confusing themselves and others. I also think that sometimes they are intimidated by the science and look for complexities and difficulties where none exist. As evidence of this have a look at this ancient thread
EvC Forum: Longest Land Meridian
I do think they understand the argument they're trying to make, but sometimes what they write bears little resemblance to it. Occasionally, they don't seem to understand what they are arguing against, as shown in the thread I linked to.
One thing that bothers me - why do scientists who debate here in religious threads have such a good grasp of what the Bible is saying, having taken the time to educate themselves, yet the Creationists who jump into science fora haven't done the same?