Left Handed Ships? - The Effect of Transverse Thrust on Ship Handling
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2019
- Strange as it sounds, ships can be described as either Right or Left Handed.
It has nothing to do with which hand they naturally write with, but it actually tells us which way their propeller spins and the effect that it has on ship handling.
You may have heard the terms propeller walk, or transverse thrust before. These both describe the effect itself. Right handed and left handed is just the terms we use to know what was a ship's propeller spins and consequently what she will do when you run astern.
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I love the subtle engine sound whenever the animation comes in, its so soothing!
Cheers Joshua. Glad you liked the noises
And the little truck going around at the port!
You probably love the sound of the ambient hum of a starship engine in the background. If you've never heard it...th-cam.com/video/ZPoqNeR3_UA/w-d-xo.html
@@tonyellen_ never knew i needed this. thanks!
@@tonyellen_ you're mad
So if a ship has two propellers spinning in opposite directions, is she ambidextrous?
From Wikipedia, it seems that they are called 'inward turning' and 'outward turning'
Connor Johnson 🤨
🤔
... that is how ships/boats pivot in place. Bow thrusters make it even easier.
Illuminati confirmed
That would make her go forward and reverse and the same time
Honestly this channel is incredibly interesting. I never knew I had such a fascination with maritime activities.
Thanks Dante. I was hoping to broaden the appeal of maritime topics
Casual Navigation honestly. I never knew ships could be so interesting aswell :D
The effect also occurs in planes. Don't know to which degree they are related, but the effect is there.
It's not called Propeller Walk, but rather Propeller Wash.
Seeing from the pilot seat on a puller (standard) configuration single engine, single prop aircraft, the vortex-like air coming out of the propeler tends to induce higher lift in one side of the wing root and lower on the other, along with an effect on the rudder. This makes the aircraft roll to one side, but the effect is minor and easily corrected by trim adjustments.
Some people got a bit creative on addressing this problem. In high performance, high power/weight ratio aircraft like WWII Fighters, usually the rudder had a preset angle of attack to compensate propwash. But the Italians went a step beyond and made a few warbird models have a wing longer on one side than the other.
Another effect present in high power single engine aircraft is the P-factor in which the torque of the engine tends to make the plane yaw to one side while on the takeoff run. Easily adressed by applying some pressure to the pedals (that also control the tailwheel, if unlocked).
Gyroscopic effects are also present in propeller aircraft. The effect is barely noticeable today, but in the times of Canvas and Wood planes (think WWI), the spinning mass made planes a bit hard to land. Especially the Sopwith Camel. They put a rotary engine in it (the engine block rotated instead of the crankshaft), so it had a lot of spinning mass in a light plane that made the gyroscopic effect quite pronounced. The Camel was notorious for being hard to land, as due to gyroscopic precession, the plane pitched up while rolling to one side and down rolling to the other. Pilots soon learned the proper combination of pitch and roll to apply while landing, but the Camel was only flown by the most experienced pilots and still had a higher crash on landing rate.
I'm blown away by this fact 😏 sorry couldn't resist!
Always wondered about that too. Makes sense now you've explained. Thanks man!
torque roll
The Phak calls it the left turning tendency. It’s actually really fun to overcome especially during windy condition at slow speeds
This is why spitfire pilots have to start a take-off run with the left foot all the way down on the yaw pedal. That huge engine in that little plane did its best to stand the plane on its starboard wheel and spin it in circles, and if you open the throttle past about 30% it'll pull you over onto your nose instead. Performance like that is not easy to control.
"Right rudder!"-cfi
100%
good explanation. I'm always amazed at how many boat owners don't understand this and therefore struggle to dock their boats.
When we did sea trials on a new-build gas carrier in the 70s, the ship had a very pronounced tendency to turn to port when going ahead under power. The joke at the time was that the hull had been built banana shaped! I guess the deck department learned to live with it. Thanks for your clear presentation
New class of ships tend to bring lots of interesting quirks to the surface. The two North Carolina class battleships ended up going through if I recall correctly 11 different propeller configurations combined to solve the vibration issues.
Are left handed ships more creative than right handed ones?
It's an urban legend
NO, but they spell better!!
Sorta like 5 ways to spell a three letter word??
Not necessarily but they're definitely more sinister.
my left pawed cat says you spelt a word wrongly
@@fidelcatsro6948 that cat is still struggling with spelling.........Spelt??? As in past tense of spell.
Wow.. Never heard of ship being left or right...
Interesting to learn...
Thank you....🙏👍😊
He’s lying. Don’t be a fool & believe everything you hear
@@chris77777777ify no he's not, this is logical and scientifically proven
Please make a video on why hulls are typically colored red!
You were the only comment loaded for me
NoName Yeah
Nice idea The Gaming Techs. I'll add it to my list
Wasn't it a corrosion retardant color? I know Robert Ballard suggested painting the wreck of the Titanic with that a few years back to make it last longer. Made me wonder whether he remembered she had water inside her as well...
Casual Navigation Any plans on posting weekly? That would be a dream! Thanks for the awesome content!
*Didn't know about this*
_The More You Know_
I never knew boats were so fascinating. Thank you.
The animations are superb, as well as the explanations, great video.
One question, what if a ship has two counter rotating propellers? does it just cancel out the effect?
Sure does, but there is another factor to consider. Do the two counter-rotating props spin “out” or “in”? (“Out” meaning starboard prop clockwise, port anticlockwise, and “in” being the opposite.)
“Out” configuration has wider thrust lines. (Imagine the water flowing further from the centreline). Gives better turning ability, especially when using engines alone to manoeuvre.
“In” advantages include better efficiency, especially if the boat can plane. The stern tends to sink with inward rotation, thus lifting the bow.
@Richard Hunt
Ambidextrous.
@@albertbatfinder5240 Thanks-excellent explanation of hydro-dynamic forces acting on the hull. Thanks
Surprisingly it doesn't. You'll see that ships are always a bit lefty or righty, meaning that they'll tent to go bow to port or stb when doing headway.
I want a follow up vid regarding this
This channel is a goldmine, the knowledge as well as the trivia every now and again is proving important to me, a high school junior who is looking at doing something like this in the future.
Glad you like it Odeh. It's great to hear you are looking to a future in the maritime industry
The simplest and very educative animation have ever seen on propeller rotation.Thank you.very helpful
This is a great channel! I hope you don’t mind but I’ve been answering a few questions from others in the comments. Keep up the good work!!
Chris - Marine Pilot
I had never known about a ship being right or left handed until I watched this. Thanks for sharing this, I learned quite a bit.
Not to be confused you call a (left handed) pitch propeller as "acting like a right handed". Also taking a tight corner or turning round a buoy it's easier to turn with this force. Remember that a fixed propeller, right handed, turn best to port when the propeller is working ahead and to starboard when it is working astern. A pitch propeller (acting right handed) is turning best to starboard on both ahead and astern. As you say in the video this can help a lot during maneuvering. Great video and very well explained.
Great explanation with great animation as always. Thank you for doing this.
Very informative thank you. Now I know why some 68 foot narrow-boats handle like a shopping trolley in reverse!
But they are flat bottom, so his bullshit doesn't apply. The effect is water density difference, well known except by him.
Excellent video, explains an aspect of vessel performance I never Knew existed.
Excellent info on the neg n pos pressure at the props -first video I've seen that explains this. Thanks.
As a pilot, I find this channel extremely interesting. The similarities are obvious (two crafts moving through a fluid), but it’s still cool to see this perspective. In a single-engine aircraft with a propeller, we fight left-turning tendencies from a clock-wise rotating prop with right rudder. Instead of the “twisted” water pushing against the hull, we have the spiraling slipstream from the propeller pushing against the vertical stabilizer, which kicks the tail to the right and the nose to the left. We also have torque (Newton’s Third Law), gyroscopic precession, and P-Factor from the prop that all try to yaw the airplane to the left.
Just subscribed!
This channel is a treasure trove of ship knowledge dare i say essential.
I was once piloting a leisure boat on the Norfolk Broads, which are tidal. I needed to do a 180 and no matter how hard I tried it wouldn’t turn round in the available width. I then tried turning in the opposite direction and it went round without a problem so I’m guessing it was to do with the effectiveness of the rudder/propellor against the water flow.
Could well be. Often ships like to turn one way more than the other. When I do a turn, I wait to see what way she wants to turn then just go with it
Paul Osborne you’re almost certainly correct. Although, it’s not always possible to swing a ship the way it ‘wants’ to swing for many reasons. Letting go an anchor in a tide is a very effective way to get a ship to swing if the tide is astern of you as it will hold the bow more or less in the position that you dropped the anchor.
If the tide is ahead of you then get stopped over the ground with the tide ahead, (stemming the tide) then put the rudder hard over while using short burst of power ahead (kicks) this will prevent you gaining much headway while ensuring the maximum turning force, the tide will start to push the bow around and the kicks ahead should hold the stern up again the tide and thus able to turn a vessel in its own length.
Transverse thrust is a valuable tool to use for ship-handling, and on most occasions it can be used to your advantage.
Chris - Marine Pilot
I know I'm late...
Leisure sailor and motor boater from Germany here.
I was taught this effect from the very beginning. My first instructor (who happens to be my father and does instructing as a kind of side hustle) always teaches this bit.
And on every voyage it is one of the first things we find out. We usually charter sailing yachts so it is a new ship to us most of the time.
And not only on voyages with one or more people in training but on every voyage we do some maneuvering trials on the first day to get a better understanding of the ships handling. Turning on the spot is one of the staples, as it a) is useful information for getting out of tight spots and b) it tells us which is the "chocolate side" (from German "Schokoladenseite", like sweet spot) for being alongside.
We prefer to have the prop walk pull the aft in. As a further aid it pulls the boat parallel to a dock on leaving after steaming into the fore spring.
Very relevant for sailing yachts: the strength of prop walk is very dependent on hull geometry and prop placement.
Extremes are a) old ships with a long keel and the prop behind the keel and the rudder behind the prop. Engine running backwards with little speed through the water don't react to the rudder at all. B) modern yachts with a short (but deeper) keel, flat bottom and a saildrive near the center (lengthwise) experience hardly any prop walk.
In my opinion it comes down to seamanship. Know your vessel and use that knowledge to your advantage.
I learned all about this on my Basic OOW course on 2015, but it didn't truly make all that much sense to me until I took the Port ASH navigators course last year. Driving mini ships around is a great way to understand the forces involved. Especially considering I've only ever driven twin CPPs, a single FPP berthing with no tugs becomes remarkably simple after learning how to use Paddlewheel Effect properly!
Dank der guten Animationen kann man das Video auch mit geringen Englischkenntnissen verstehen. Sehr gut, danke!
You’ve just explained something to me that I’ve been wondering for years, now I know how the long ships get to dock up the river near where I live in Port Talbot, thanks.!
Hi! it's me, a guy how's been a passenger on a ship maybe 6 times in his life, watching everything there is to know about ships on youtube.
Great video man! I didn't knew I had this question until now😂💪
Cheers Ismael. Always glad to give answers to unknown questions
He gave a false answer.
Then show what would be your answer, we are here to learn.
@@ismael5902 It is common knowledge, in the boat community, different water density between the top and the bottom of the propeller, more side thrust from the bottom. It is evident when going forward, as well, the steering pulls to one side, outboards have a trim fin behind the propeller to help compensate.
Good stuff !!! Keep it comming.. and thx
This channel is a godsend to me and anyone on my maritime academy in Antwerp
Cheers!
Thanks That guy. Glad it helps
I’m currently in my exams and your video series of the colreg light signals and sounds have been extremely helpful. Again cheers man! Channels like your are rare to come by!
Very interesting, I try to learn something every day, now I have. Thanks
Glad to help Jack
Great stuff just came across your channel and love the info. As a request, if you mention something in the video like another video of your, can you put a link in the description?
These are great videos!
well explained! u earned my sub!
You learn something new every day
Great video. I'd just add a short mention on 2 propellers and the effect of cancelling each other out when running astern. If you care about an idea... how bow thrusters work could be interesting to people not knowing about them. In cases with only one but also multiple ones on the bow and stern as well... Cheers!
I do plan on getting to bow thruster some time
This is brilliant - thank you!
I was on a 100-120ton, single screw, cargo pitcher for 3 years. The Skipper would mention about the ship walking as we left and and came in to dock. Never fully understood why. Thanks
It's a great class! 👏👏👏
Incredibly interesting!
Wow, thanks for the great explanation
Neat! *Goes to click the like button, but realized I have already watched and liked*
Grew up piloting small boats before I could drive a car. One uncle had a nice twin screw, that was so easy to dock and maneuver, just shift each shaft fwd/rev as desired to twist around anyway I wanted. But my other had an inboard, right-hand single screw with a rather small rudder. Docking port-side to, was easy just as your video shows. But backing out of the slip was a bit tricky as the rudder had much less effect than the prop-wash until moving pretty fast (didn't matter how I turned the rudder, it would always back around, swinging the stern to port).
Then modern boats started getting inboard/outboards. Higher power of larger inboard engines, maneuverability of outboards with their directional props. I/O units are a bit like the small boat version of anzipods. :)
Great informative video.
I thought the visualisation for the propeller pushing water was really well done 👍
Man, this channel grew in me so quickly...
Congo for 75k sub😊
hmm.. with me being left handed... does that mean if I walk backwards then I will tend to drift to the right? :)
I would assume it does :)
Typically, yes (if you have no other means of guidance). People tend to walk in circles if they are not relying on an external means of guidance.
If you were out in the desert intending to walk in a straight line (or were out in a wide-open area with your eyes closed), for example, you will walk in a large circle determined by your dominant leg. If you are right-handed, you will tend to make longer, more powerful strides with your right leg, causing you to turn to the left.
The best way to remember this is to imagine the propellor as a tiny paddle steamer. It will indicate the direction of the stern's movement. In fact some people call it the paddle steamer effect since that's what it looks like it's doing, even though other forces are also at work.
Great explanation ❤
As far as I know, merchant vessel cargo ships have right handed propellers and this is done by convention. So when you get an astern bell, the ship will have that swing to port side. Cruise ships may have twin screws ( I am not sure ) and military ships have variable pitch propellers. Ships have bow thrusters to help in docking and usually two tugs, one at each end ( bow and stern ). Most of the ships I have worked on are usually port side to the dock except Roll On, Roll Off ( Roro ) where they are tied starboard side to.
Always stuff to learn, that I don't even really need to.
my favorite channel
Interesting explanation, I'd never thought of it that way. I was taught that right hand props back to port (bow goes to stbd) because of a so-called "paddle wheel" effect. Wherein, due to the pitch of the propeller, the blades grab water from the port side and draw the stern over to port. Similar to how a paddle wheel steamer creates forward motion.
It does do the paddle wheeling too, simply due to the different densities between the water at the top and bottom of the propeller. A ship in ballast will suffer more because there is a bigger percentage difference than if the ship is deeper
More on Navy ships, just to add more interesting info:
I cannot speak for other countries, but US Navy ships have "reversible pitch propellers."
What this means is, you don't have to slow down the propellers at all. You can "shift into reverse" at full speed, just by changing the pitch. Using this system, a Destroyer, which clocked in at 563 feet (Spruance class, from my day) could go from Flank 3 (full speed) to full stop...in a single ship length. It was like hitting the "brakes."
It was neat when we'd do it. The ship would just instantaneously jerk itself back in the water (sending everything that wasn't battened down flying) and the bow would lift out of the water so high that the top of the Sonar Dome was visible.
Also, you could actually pull a Navy ship pierside, without tug boats, because of the added maneuverability. This was not done often. We usually had the tugs come out. But on occasion, when the Skipper was training a young officer, he'd make that young officer do it.
Awesome video
Excelento! Eye sir!
Nicely explained I had never thought much about propellers wonder if the left handed ones are smarter :)
ОК. Very informative thank you.
Very good!
Thx i was learning for my motorboat licence test (sternik moyotowodny in polish) and there was question about left and right handed propeller.
Why is this channel so entertaining? 🧐
I have to wonder how pronounced this effect is in three screw ships, since in twin screws, making them contra-rotating cancels everything out. But with an odd number of props, that would be harder. I also wonder if props with a duct around them mitigate the effect too.
Brings to mind the importance of knowing what type of thrust reverser you have on a Sea-Doo (PWC). I wouldn't be surprised if, for the sake of consistent steering as a safety issue all sea-doos now use a reverser mounted on the thruster nozzle that just redirects water roughly 180 degrees. Since there is a thruster in the way, this type of reverser actually directs water mostly down at an angle, under the thruster. This reduces reverse thrust and steering authority substantially, compared to normal operation when going forward, but means the craft steers in reverse like other motor boats (and cars). The side you steer to will always be the inside of the turn, and the end of the craft moving forward will steer to that same side.
I don't know if they're still used, but older sea-doos (some at least) instead have a wide deflector attached to the hull that acts more as a mirror. It's shaped to redirect incoming water primarily to the sides, but angled forward. Thrust strait backwards is, Id' say better, but not by much. The thrust is largely to the sides and wasted cancelling itself out. However, turning authority in reverse was *excellent*. The deflector could push water at a more sideways angle than the thruster itself could turn. The "downside" is that reverse steering is inverted. With this scheme, the bow always turns to the side your steering in either direction. Put another way, as viewed from above, steering to the right always turns the craft clockwise, and steering left always counter clockwise. I actually found this pretty intuitive for this specific kind of craft. Delicate maneuvers usually involve alternating between forward and reverse thrust while your body is turned around. Having the steering controls always spin you the same way regardless of what way you are facing or where the thrust reverser is set removes any mental frame of reference issues, and also results in a lot less sea-sawing the steering (which otherwise needs to be reversed in tandem with the reversing lever to maintain a direction of spin).
On my 20 foot keelboat (inboard propulsion), the mantra was "power to port, drift to starboard" for tight fairways, at least when making headway. Naturally, one had to be aware of other factors, like tide flow and windage.
I see what you mean about the interaction with the hull, but I've always wondered if the same effect that causes p-factor in an aircraft is at play.
Basically, if the shaft is not horizontal, the prop wheel is also at an angle to the water flow. That means the prop has a greater angle of attack on one side than the other. The asymmetric thrust pilot calls p-factor is pronounced.
Do you think the varying effective angle of attack on each prop blade as it completes a revolution plays a role in prop walk?
Great videos - how about one of stability for sail boats and motor boats ? Keep it simple though
This topic was of interest to me
Glad to hear it eM
I really do be watching this and thinking about the four fundamental forces of flight back from like day one of ground school
Hi can you please make a discussion about the blindspot in the bow part of the vessel. Thankyou
Thanks for explaining that it is the propeller wash hitting the bottom of the boat/ship that forced the lateral movement. I had wondered if it was due to the higher water pressure at the deeper level that caused the propeller blade to have more resistance thus causing the lateral movement away from the propeller blade's movement. Has anyone tried to test this pressure theory in a tank where there is no hull to push?
Wow nice 3D animation!
Thanks 4ndr1n
What about 2,3 or 4 props in the propulsion department would you use the ones on the left spin right and the ones on the right spin left? to counter the effects of the as what its call in the car turms torque stearing on front wheel drive cars or all wheel non symmetric drive lines
Love your videos. Can you make a video on why propellers always have to be at the stern of the ship?
Maybe because when the ship thrusts forwards the stern goes deeper, allowing more force to be applied, while the bow rises up, reducing the available force, like how drag-racers are rear-wheel drive.
@@Sableagle Of course, hadn't thought of it that way! Would be interesting to see the mechanics of the torque incurred by the prop to cause such a downwards motion.
@@zamnodorszk7898 Bit late, but for the future:
It's the same as in airplanes like the 737. The center of mass is not in line with the thrust vector. That offset results in a torque which will cause the plane to pitch up as you increase power. It's probably the same effect in boats. Of course, in planes there are a lot of other factors at play like the control surface trims, and your load...
If there is an approach angle to the prop shaft you can now enter in P-factor. Tendency to turn to port causing you to rudder to starboard. This gives you a stable heading. Boat wont wag left and right.
Makes good sense for having contra-rotating propellers on ships as well as aircraft since the forces would tend to cancel each other out.
This is why most modern vessels have counterrotating props. The large majority of small power boats, IO (stern drive) , inboard or outboard, are right handed. that is unless of course, they have dual engines with counterrotating props.
Then what about twin motor twin propeller boats that spins different directions ? Are they different?
Please explain planning vs displacement hulls
I feel like im watching a pirate teaching me about ships...
That navigator language tho
This was very informative and i just figured it a mistake of mine I though it was beacuse of coriolis acceleration and I though it would also heppen in fore motion as well
Quite a few river tow-boats have 'ducted' screws, enclosed in a ring. Seems that would eliminate the reversing effect on a hull?
With small yachts and boats the idling of the prop is sometimes enough to use the transverse thrust. Combined with hard rudder deflection you don't have any forward momentum. Just doesn't function as well with a saildrive type of motor, because the momentum generated by the pressure difference on the hull is too small. With a saildrive you sadly need the rudder to maneuver and for that you need speed through the water, because the prop is too far from the rudder to push water along the rudder.
Does thrust from two counter rotating propellers make the rudder more efficient when making turns on a big ship?
Thanks for the information.
Is this the same with respect to Voith Schneider Propulsion?
And how about in case of a two way ferry boat that has propulsion at either end ?
Voiths are different as they can direct the thrust in any direction.
I love this channel
I've always called the three point turn a back and fill.
since the titanic's two wing propellors spun left and the central spun right, does that make her ambidextrous with a slight preference for left?
Thanks, I was wondering why my ship's turning off way while docking
Could you please explain why the effect is the opposite with a controllable pitch propellor, I'm trying to write a report about it right now for my training record book
Bow thruster video next 🙃😊
I once had to manouver a small diesel pwoered "snipa" which had almost no rudder so the transverse thrus made it so that you really only could turn in one direction
In aviation we call these forces accelerated slip stream and p factor. I hadn't ever thought about it in ships.
Is there any effect if there are two propellers spinning in opposite directions?
Most often they cancel each other out, but sometimes they can act either way. Small differences in the pitch of a propeller or when a ship is leaning over slightly (listing) can produce different effects.
Chris - Marine Pilot
If smaller boats feel this effect and have multiple propellers such as with multiple outboard motors do they all spin in the same direction in order to take advantage of this steering effect, or do they spin in opposite directions in order to minimise this effect? The video showed how it can be a good thing with going alongside a dock, but small boats tend to moor in marinas where they park stern-in to the jetty. I imagine reversing into a tight space might be more difficult with this effect happening. Or is the effect in small boats too small to be a problem?
This exact phenomenon has happened to my single two blade right hand propeller rc boat
Excellent video. Question: What about a ship with multiple screws? Say one right-handed, and one left-handed? I know a ship with twin or quadruple screws can be steered with the screws alone if the rudder is inoperable, and it would seem that with one side right-handed and the other side would be even more so. Am I correct in this assumption?
Matthew Robinson props turning in the same direction are rare, but they do exist. Usually props turn in opposite directions as you say. They are described as inward turning or outward turning. It’s important when ship handling to know which way the twin props turn. As for transverse thrust, twin props turning in opposite directions often cancel each other out, but there are many factors that can make the ship act slightly left or right handed even with twin props.
Chris - Marine Pilot
@@marinepilotchris3048 Thank you.
The same thing happens in (propeller) airplanes. The air coming from the propeller is twisting as well as moving to the back of the plane. This introduces a roll factor that must be corrected. There is also a torch factor, caused by the engine.
When will we get a video explaining ship prefixes?