Electricity the Future Power for Steering Vessels

Electrical development in the marine field has been confined in a large measure to the navy, and the best experience with electric steering gears has been obtained from navy installations. Up to the present time steam has been the universal power for operating steering gears, but certain disadvantages are in-herent in this system which can be overcome by the electric drive, and additional advantages obtained. The history of electric gears shows that many different schemes have been tried and proved failures owing to faulty designs and imperfectly developed apparatus. At present several different systems are in successful operation. To obtain full benefit of the advantages possible from an electric drive, much depends on the selection of apparatus with characteristics best suited to the work. The problem of electric drive is largely one of control. The calculations for rudder and motor horse powers must be carefully made, with the proper assumptions for the conditions presented. Several installations in the navy have shown excellent results; in the case of the battleship Texas the data obtained show preliminary calculations were quite accurate. Results obtained seem to justify the prediction that electric steering gears will be used quite generally in the future.