Drive and control device for watercraft or the like having at least one pair of steerable propellers

In a drive and control device for watercraft or the like having at least one pair of steerable propellers which are arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the craft and are pivotable about respective vertical axes and controllable for such pivoting, the improvement comprising:

• an initial position of said steerable propellers in which (1) the direction of the thrust of each is positioned at a right angle to the connecting line between the center of lateral resistance of the watercraft and the respective said vertical pivot axis, and (2) said steerable propellers of each pair are directed to cause straight forward travel of the watercraft and produce equal but opposite torques about the lateral center of resistance of the watercraft;
• and
• control means including a common control device actuable for synchronously and in the same angular direction pivoting the steerable propellers of each pair from said initial position about their said respective vertical axes, said common control device comprising a control lever mounted for vertical pivoting between a parallel propeller thrust position and a traversing nonparallel propeller thrust position, said lever being further mounted for horizontal rotating continuously in a circle for rotating said steerable propellers about their said vertical axes in synchronism such that said propellers pivot through identical angles at the sme time, said lever being further mounted for rotation about its own length axis for superposing on said synchronous pivoting of said propellers a relative angular displacement therebetween.

In a drive and control device for watercraft of the like having at least one pair of steerable propellers which are arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the craft and are pivotable about respective vertical axes and controllable for such pivoting, the improvement comprising:

• an initial position of said steerable propellers in which (1) the direction of the thrust of each is positioned at a right angle to the connecting line between the center of lateral resistance of the watercraft and the respective said vertical pivot axis, and (2) said steerable propellers of each pair are directed to cause straight forward travel of the watercraft and produce equal but opposite torques about the lateral center of resistance of the watercraft;
• and
• control means including a common control device actuable for synchronously and in the same angular direction pivoting the steerable propellers of each pair from said initial position about their said respective vertical axes, said common control device comprising a lever pivotable in a vertical plane to control propeller thrust magnitude and horizontally rotatable about a vertical axis to control traversing direction of said propellers by pivoting of said steerable propellers synchronously from their said initial position, said control means further including a hand wheel rotatable for superposing a relative pivoting of said steerable propellers with respect to each other upon said synchronous pivoting thereof.