The best is twin screw twin rudders with the rudder directly behind the outward turning propellers. Inward turning propeller are more efficient at propulsion but make manoeuvring at slow speeds interesting. A minesweeper with inward turning screws and a single rudder had in its handover notes by one CO said, “see which way she wants to go and help it.”
I drove a vintage car once with worn king pins. I was never so pleased to get of a car. Winding the steering wheel a couple of turns each way to stay in a straight line.
Back to the OP. I sailed to a few ports in South and Central America where the pilot boats were dugouts.
One port that stands out is Aracaju, Brazil. Around '74, Aracaju was “daylight only” sailing. One of the pilots was an interesting guy they called Peixe. (Portuguese for fish) Peixe would take the first outbound vessel in the morning. On meeting the first inbound vessel at the sea buoy, Peixe would swim from the outbound to the inbound. Sometimes if timing was off, he’d wait sitting on the sea buoy for the next inbound. He was in his 60’s back then. I was told he swam against Johnny Weissmuller in the olympics.
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My comment about twin screw and twin rudder ships, where the rudders are “NOT” mounted directly behind the center of the hub, needs clarification. This ships are STILL far better than twin screw with single rudders.
The ships with rudders ‘offset’ so they can slip the shaft without the rudders being removed is another stellar example of the stupidity of designers trying to save money.
A ship goes into dry-dock once in three years. How often does she have to pull her shaft out???
But how often is she 'maneuvering"??? Every day if she is a cruise ship. So the risk and potential for costly damages and accidents is ever present with a ship equipped with rudders offset…to save some time and money in a shipyard period that occurs every few years.
What a brilliant concept.
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What I don’t understand is why an OSV with a freeboard of about 5’ is required to have 30’ ladder? Last time we rigged it up in Mexico the pilot literally told us take it down and just stepped off the gunnel of his little boat.
It must be some regulation that I’m unfamiliar with. One pilot ladder sufficient for the normal freeboard is quite sufficient. It is not a trip hazard and can be handled by one man if required. Apart from dugout canoes the typical request is for the bottom of the ladder to be 2 metres above the water so in your case he would be stepping down. In San Francisco the pilot cutter would need the ladder.
Yeah, it was the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen.