Optimizing steering console geometry on high-speed boats enhances their safety, control, and comfort.
View full article: Proboat-Designing Consoles for Speed
High-speed boats are being built in growing numbers for military, coast guard, sea rescue, and law enforcement agencies, and builders of recreational boats are taking similar advantage of advances in propulsion technologies, hull design, and composite materials to deliver ever-faster boats to the boating public. Indeed, civilian models of military vessels and military styling on recreational vessels are popular trends in the design and marketing of new powerboats. Whether they are recreational or professional, these models offer increased speed and power over more conventional boats and the suggestion that they are capable of operating at speed in harsh conditions.
Naturally, these trends increase the need to optimize safety and comfort on board. Higher speeds expose boat operators and passengers to higher impacts, causing significant physical fatigue and increasing the risk of injuries such as vertebral fractures and disk herniations. As a practical operational limitation, higher speed also reduces the time helmsmen have to perceive unexpected events and to correct operational mistakes.