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With a many thousand ton ship, the most telling effect on performance is inertia. Simply stated, it takes a great deal of energy, over time, to effect any change in speed and direction of movement. If you merely stop the engines on a fast moving ship, she may continue forward for a mile or more slowed only by shape drag and friction. Drag and thus deceleration can be increased in two ways by turning the rudders:
The rudder itself has increased drag when moved from perfect fore and aft alignment.
As the ship turns, she presents more of a lateral surface to the direction of movement. Inertial forces on the ship push her in the direction in which she WAS headed but the force of water against the hull increases her turn.
Our simulations give you an optional Tutorial difficulty level. In Tutorial mode, the ship has no inertia and no drag. She will accelerate and decelerate and turn immediately. This is highly unrealistic, but can help you to learn the type of effect that each of the controls has on the ship.
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