Why do hydros only turn in one direction?

[spacephrawg]

I seem to remember reading this somewhere and it surprises me every time I think of it. How very odd. Is it true for all hydros? why? Why don't they have the ability to turn any which way like any other boat? Thanks.

[toesup]

I seem to remember reading this somewhere and it surprises me every time I think of it. How very odd. Is it true for all hydros? why? Why don't they have the ability to turn any which way like any other boat?

Something to do with prop rotation direction?...

It's a bit like NASCAR, they can only turn right... When it comes to turning left they crash in to things.. :p

[drakonis]

its all has to do with torque and whats called propwalk. try to turn a hydro designed to turn right to the left and propwalk can happen. it basically spinns out. torque will make it roll over easier in the turns. the club i used to belong to all the boats ran reverse motors and right hand props. so we turned like the real hydros.

[AndyKunz]

"Hydro" is a generic term, but for outriggers and Scale or Sport (a racing class) it's true, at least for boats designed after 1953.

It's because the prop is putting a lot more side-force on the back end of the boat than in other designs, and they don't have nearly as much keel to counteract it. The prop is only half in the water, and that kind of makes it like a paddle wheel running perpendicular to the direction of travel.

They can turn in either direction if they are off plane. The prop is fully submerged, then (often).

Andy

[P_J_Glor]

The boats are optimized to turn in one direction by offsetting the turn fins and rudders because they are closed course racers, and the optimal setup is based on torque from the prop rotation.

Model hydros actually run in the opposite direction of the full scale hydros because prop rotation was pretty much fixed for teh nitro powered boats and just happens to be opposite that of teh full sized boats. Electrics could probably be set up to run either way, but evolved on the same courses as the gas boats and the availability of props, etc. arose from the nitro boats.

NASCAR racers, on the other hand are optimized to turn LEFT, except for the two road courses each year. That puts the wall on the passenger side of the car, giving the driver a little more protection if the car hits the wall.

Pete G.

[toesup]

NASCAR racers, on the other hand are optimized to turn LEFT, except for the two road courses each year. That puts the wall on the passenger side of the car, giving the driver a little more protection if the car hits the wall.

Well done Pete, you spotted the deliberate mistake.. :D

[P_J_Glor]

Yes, I am also a NASCAR fan, Toes, along with a number of other afflictions besides scale and non-scale boat. To the extent sometimes that I feel like that in addition to Kit Accumulation Disorder I suffer from a form of modeling attention deficit disorder, flitting from one modeling subject to the next and most of them being on the workbench or the shelf.

Three weeks to go and the NASCAR Season begins anew....And if you think (based on the 1:1 Mahogany Electric Thread) that electric racing boats would lose something, imagine what electric NASCARS would be like...My wife already nods off at the races, even with all that noise...Much better the roar of the Big V8's. Not a very 'green' mentality, but I have to wonder how much pollution the Japanese gas-sensing satellite put in the air from the launch compared to what it is supposed to monitor...but I digress....that @&*% ADD again....

Pete G.

[spacephrawg]

So even if I got one of those 1950's classic Ferrari hydros, I'd still have to deal with the one-directional turning thing? That's unfortunate.

I saw a video of someone in italy once driving his replica ferrari hydro out of a marina and it could turn both ways. He proceeded to go out and break the speed limit in the harbor, turning every which way.

[spacephrawg]

Yes, I am also a NASCAR fan, Toes, along with a number of other afflictions besides scale and non-scale boat. To the extent sometimes that I feel like that in addition to Kit Accumulation Disorder I suffer from a form of modeling attention deficit disorder, flitting from one modeling subject to the next and most of them being on the workbench or the shelf.

Three weeks to go and the NASCAR Season begins anew....And if you think (based on the 1:1 Mahogany Electric Thread) that electric racing boats would lose something, imagine what electric NASCARS would be like...My wife already nods off at the races, even with all that noise...Much better the roar of the Big V8's. Not a very 'green' mentality, but I have to wonder how much pollution the Japanese gas-sensing satellite put in the air from the launch compared to what it is supposed to monitor...but I digress....that @&*% ADD again....

Pete G.

Slightly off topic: why do they always do nascar in a simple circuit? In europe they have complicated tracks that take more skill to drive at speed. Perhaps BBC's Top Gear has spoiled me but i can't watch Nascar anymore.

[drakonis]

you could go either way but i wouldnt do it at top speed. it might roll over and damage it. just back off a little and turn. we didnt say it couldnt be done but its not reccomended at top speed.

[drakonis]

Slightly off topic: why do they always do nascar in a simple circuit? In europe they have complicated tracks that take more skill to drive at speed. Perhaps BBC's Top Gear has spoiled me but i can't watch Nascar anymore.

yeah i know. im a f1 fan too. but it dates waaaay back for nascar. im more of a road course guy too. takes more skill to turn right too. lol. :cool:

[Aerominded]

I can't get excited about the newer F1 cars and the politics of F1 today, but I agree on the need to have turn the wheel both ways during a race! ;)

[der kapitan]

I just sit back, sipping on my beer, and enjoy it all---. :)

It doesn't matter to me which type of race it is. ;)

Just as long as I don't run out of beer---. :D

[Aerominded]

Just as long as I don't run out of beer---. :D

On second thought, I don't care so much about the actual racing... or the cars being driven.... :p

Mmmmmm, beer...

[johnmca72]

Slightly off topic: why do they always do nascar in a simple circuit? In europe they have complicated tracks that take more skill to drive at speed. Perhaps BBC's Top Gear has spoiled me but i can't watch Nascar anymore.
They do for a couple of races each season (IRL does the same).

I don't know for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that the reason both NASCAR & IRL mainly use oval tracks is so that the spectators can see the whole track. On a road course, there's never a single spot (except overhead, in an aircraft) where you can see everything & you have to pick your spot.

JM

[spacephrawg]

They do for a couple of races each season (IRL does the same).

I don't know for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that the reason both NASCAR & IRL mainly use oval tracks is so that the spectators can see the whole track. On a road course, there's never a single spot (except overhead, in an aircraft) where you can see everything & you have to pick your spot.

JM

Indeed. I wonder how they do it at the Nurberg Ring.