On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:34:46 -0700, Gordon wrote:


I had a Hydro-vane installed on my last boat, see
http://www.hydrovane.com/OurProduct.html

It directly steers the boat and the rudder was effective nearly to a
stop (although it turned pretty slow at that speed :-)

You will note that the rudder is a foil.

In general aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are much the same, taking
into consideration viscosity and speed, etc. The wings you mentioned
work by generating lift albeit downward rather then upward :-)


.
Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Interesting unit. What happens when you go in reverse?

Well, you seldom go into reverse while the vane is steering the boat
:-)

But more seriously, while maneuvering under power you lock the
auxiliary rudder straight ahead by inserting a locking pin.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)