What are the advantages/disadvantages of having inboard turning wheels versus outboard turning wheels?
[QUOTE=tugboatchief;83188]What are the advantages/disadvantages of having inboard turning wheels versus outboard turning wheels?[/QUOTE]
Depends upon what you want to do for usual work. Inboard wheels walk. But don’t twist as well Outboard wheels back like a bastard and twist well, but don’t walk. Me, I like inboard wheels hands down. I especially LOVE flankers. I think it should be a law that ALL tugs should have flankers! Well… almost a law!
Some companies maybe 10 or 20 years ago did a study and found outboard turning wheels were better around docks for maneuvering, and inboard was better for distance towing. Something about concentrating the thrust in a tight pattern out the ass. Versus an outboard wheel that spreads out the thrust over a wider area.
I think JMHO that inboard turning wheels are more susceptible to sucking lines and push gear into the wheels though.
You’ve gotta jump in that elevator and come down to PR and run the Specialist. Twin screw. 2400HP inboard turning wheels with flankers. She is very unique. Big barn doors for main rudders and four flankers. Very handy for a 90 footer.
Way back when, guys in N.Y. Harbor used to say you could always tell the difference between a Northern Boat and a Gulf Boat. The Boats built for the GOM seemed to always have Inboard Turning wheels and Two Search Lights on the top of the Wheel House. Where the Boats Built for the North East had Outboard Turning Wheels and one Big Search Light on the Wheel House. Once I started to pay attention I found that for the most part it was true, as least in the past.
I certainly can attest to the point that tugs with inboard/flankers/nozzles are handy little boats. They aren’t well suited to shallow water work. They tend to vacuum everything off the bottom and through the nozzles. OTOH, outboard turning open wheels with “barn doors” are the way to go when it comes to predicting what the boat will do. If you set it up right, you can walk a boat with outboard wheels. I can do it with a 550’ ATB, pretty well in ballast and not so well fully laden. I’d love to see flankers on the boat but I don’t want to have to deal with nozzles again. I’d really like to see azimuthing drives. So I can dream can’t I?
The new faceted tug / ATB’s my employer is building are now featuring a nozzle/tri-plane rudder that is supposedly very handy is close quarters maneuvering, I don’t know first hand if that is so, but those who’ve told me I can take at their word.
We have a few boats with nautican nozzles w/ triple rudders they handle like a dream.
I was just ‘voting’ for open inboard turning wheels! Nozzles are a PITA.
As far as walking, outboard turning wheels don’t really walk directly sideways. They sort of slither diagonally. Nothing like real walking. I used to run a 562’ 8000 HP. atb open inboard turning wheels. I could walk that sideways, forward and backwards all day. Sweet handling.
Express marine is running ATB’s w/ z-drives on the right coast I think.
We always ended up with inboard turning wheels because the coon-asses at the shipyard put the engines on the wrong side of the boat.
Yep. It runs b/t the Miss River & Crystal River.