why do boats have steering on the right?

[Milkmaster]

Just a question I have always wanted to ask... Why do small boats for the most part have steering on the right? Seems backwards compared to everything else in the U.S. with steering on the left. Yes, I know that some boats have center consols etc. I am speaking about your generic runabout 18-22 foot ski or fishing boat.

 

[greg_upnorth]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

my guess would be because of living in a right-handed world. if the steering is on the left side, it would be awkward a) throttling with left hand would mess people up or b) if the throttle were still on the right, it would get in the way of the center aisle...

at least thats what i concluded after i was wondering the same thing ....

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Ooh! Ooh! I'm just a cadet (as of this posting), but I might know the answer to this one.

Well, actually, from my reading on boating, it appears there's still some debate about it even today. From what I gather, it all has to do with the propeller. The torque of the rotating prop tends to make the boat want to lean to port. Putting the helm on the starboard side allows the weight of the skipper to counteract the leaning.

Or something like that.

 

[wncrjb]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

I asked the same question at the dock a few years back and got the same answer as NAVY JR gave.

wncrjb

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Correct. You see you can not level the load on a boat as with a car using the suspension and the rotation of the prop tends to raise the right side of the boat. The weight of the driver on the starboard side helps make it ride straight.......my opinion anyway

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Correct. You see you can not level the load on a boat as with a car using the suspension and the rotation of the prop tends to raise the right side of the boat. The weight of the driver on the starboard side helps make it ride straight.......my opinion anyway Now answer this . why does a boat always get such poor gas milage compared to a car? I know do you?

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

theory I heard was that in very old ancient boating before center line rudders they used a board or very long oar and tied it to the side of the boat to steer. favoring right handed people it was on the right side of the boat. And to take it further, it was on the "steering board" side of the boat which became "starboard". Because you never moored your boat with the steering board towards the dock where it would get damaged the other side of the boat was the "port" side because the port was always over there.

 

[mike176]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

I dunno why but i always figured boats in the UK would steer from the port side since we steer our boats from the starboard side.

 

[scottfromoz]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

no no no...in Australia our cars have the steering wheels on the right hand side...and finally the world has realised that its the best side to have it (at least on boats in the US anyway!!!) (It forces right handed people to use their left to change gears!).

Cheers

 

[dmcb]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Some of the older Chris Craft cruisers had the steering on the port side. My first was a 30' 1959 model. Don't laugh it was almost new then. . I just saw a CC Roamer on the net of about the same year and it had a port helm also.
Kinda rare and you notice.
Both I mention were twin screw and maybe that was the difference. Don't know about single screw.
I never knew why most are starboard but I always suspected it was because of prop torque.
Doug

 

[steelespike]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

My 1929 Dodge triple cockpit runabout had the steering on the
port side.Original owner moved the battery to the starboard side.
This 25ft 4,000 lb boat would still lean a little to port when running with me alone in it.I usually slid more to the middle of the seat which helped alot.
Once you started adding passengers you seldom had to move people to level the ride.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Now answer this... why does a boat always get such poor gas milage compared to a car? I know, do you?

Okay, now that's one I didn't come across in my boating research (as a newbie boater), so I'm guessing it is because it is easier to move an object on wheels over a concrete or asphalt surface than it is to move an object through water. Hydrofoils, because of their very small footprint in the water, go faster and probably get better mileage than ordinary planing vessels, and ordinary planing vessels go faster and probably get better mileage than those with displacement hulls that basically have to plow through the water.

So, my short answer would have to be "Resistance".

 

[Texasmark]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

I don't know when the general trend began and I don't know why originally the port side was chosen as the steering side. If you research old boats you see both till one day the industry took the starboard side and there it is. But I do agree about most props turning cw which tends to raise the starboard side so you sit on that side to balance it out.

On your comment Jr. you nailed it. On your car you take your foot off the gas and it just coasts along loosing little speed on flat ground. Cut the throttle in your boat and you sink......well not quite, grin.

I have a very light boat with a stepped (padded) bottom powered by a 90 hp engine. I can go fishing/playing several times on 10 gallons of gas.

Mark

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Funny enough this was one of the most frequently asked questions on the Cdn Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety web site. (note: OBS is now part of Transport Canada). Their typical answer was: Two reasons. 1- Builders choice/preference which would seem to satisfy the prop thrust suggestions and 2 - Under IALA B aids to navigation rules for NA your give-way zone is on your starboard side from dead ahead to 30 degs aft of your starboard beam. This gives the operator with a starboard mounted controls the best visibility over this zone and is thought to be the safest.

The starboard mounted controls do make it a slight bit trickier when canaling although I've found it handy to be able to see the submerged walls or banks of the canals when it gets tight.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

I don't know when the general trend began and I don't know why originally the port side was chosen as the steering side. If you research old boats you see both till one day the industry took the starboard side and there it is. But I do agree about most props turning cw which tends to raise the starboard side so you sit on that side to balance it out.

I've noticed in looking at various outboard motor websites that you can order your engine with a counter-clockwise rotation. Is that for boats such as the Chris Craft in DMCB's post above, or are there other applications?

 

[arboldt]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

When you get right down to it, it's tradition, so RWilson is closest to the truth, I suspect.

Give-way zones and screw rotation direction could easily have been designed the other way when they were first invented (150?) years ago.

Consider the first boats - what we'd consider a dugout canoe. The main paddler in back is usually right handed, and gets the biggest power stroke on the right side. As the canoes got bigger and more paddlers were added, they could use either side, and the back began to use his paddle as a rudder, again having more control on the right due to predominant right-handedness. This continued even to ancient sailing ships -- as recently as the Norse longboats -- that had the steering board (aka starboard) on the right.

Given that tradition, boat builders maintained that basic design orientation over the centuries. I can't remember my naval history too well, but think it was only 1000 - 1300 AD when the mechanics of separating steering and rudder made a center-mounted rudder possible. By then, the tradition was well ingrained.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

The historical progression of land conveyances follows a similar path of ingrained purpose and design.

 

[Esox]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

I've noticed in looking at various outboard motor websites that you can order your engine with a counter-clockwise rotation. Is that for boats such as the Chris Craft in DMCB's post above, or are there other applications?

I could be wrong on this but i think most of the time the ccw rotating engines are used in twin outboard applications. One turns cw and the other turns ccw.

 

[Windykid]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

Yep that is my guess, for twin outboards to have a counter rotation for stability.

 

[rockyrude]

Re: why do boats have steering on the right?

the clockwise counter-clockwise rotation is to cancel out the torque steer from each motor in a twin situation. don't know what they do with three