Steering astern!

[Leandros]

Originally Posted by GJO

I am surprised by the preciseness of the steering with SH3's boats when running astern.

AFAIK, in RL, running astern is rarely used for navigation and is really only used for slowing or stopping. On my own boat in RL, running astern is sometimes necessary due to the narrow nature of the canal but it can be a steering nightmare especially with the slightest breath of crosswind. By contrast the boats in SH3 seem to handle perfectly and precisely with the props running astern (very useful when attacking with the stern torp!) but is this an accurate reflection of the way RL subs would handle?

I believe it is fairly correct the reason being that the boats have contra-rotating propellers and are quite heavy but not showing much of itself above the surface for the wind to act upon.

The rotation direction of the (single) propeller, as you certainly know, is particularly influential while maneuvering at low speed, the rudder loosing its importance. This is particularly important when approaching the pier. When doing it from the right direction the reverse gear shall pull the aft nicely onto it.

Fred