54 AUTOMATIC STEERING. 
is known, there is more or less lag in the operation of the magnetic compass on board ships, 
especially as they are built more and more of steel, with an ever-increasing necessity for com- 
pensation, which, in the last analysis, means neutralization and impoverishment of the lines 
of force reaching the magnetic needle. When the various factors of compensation have all 
been introduced, the needle, especially on large ships, is found to be very sluggish and slow 
to respond to the smaller changes of heading. This, in a measure, is the reason for poor 
steering on the part of most quartermasters. It is proverbial that a good quartermaster pre- 
fers to watch almost anything except the compass and, as a matter of fact, this is just what 
he does. He simply observes the compass now and then for course, but depends on out- 
board observations and ranges for suppression of yaw. 
The main points that influence holding a ship on her course under service conditions 
are the following: 
1. The general characteristics of the ship, especially as to flow of water to the rudder 
and the disturbances of the water by nearby propellers. 
2. The general effectiveness of the rudder, as such. 
3. Whether the ship is light or loaded and, when light, if she is low at the stern with 
large areas forward exposed to wind effect. A ship in the latter condition will require more 
“helm” with beam wind than with normal loading. The amount of helm required by differ- 
ent ships under the same weather conditions is found to vary considerably. Some require 
more helm than others to suppress yaw and keep the ship on her course. Some ships are 
known to be cranky and quickly tire the quartermaster, as shown by the poor steering record 
during the latter part of his watch. Other matters that influence steering to no small degree 
are currents and tides, and tide rips where the two meet. 
Regardless of the particular brand of psychology which different quartermasters are 
supposed to annex in carrying on their work, it would seem that in the final analysis steering 
resolves itself into a comparatively few well-established maneuvers. Although it may seem 
difficult to characterize these, yet they resolve themselves into “easing off” and “meeting,” 
terms sometimes used to express one form or another of true anticipation. It would seem 
next to impossible to so organize a mechanism that it could perform in any sense the func- 
tion of anticipation, but, regardless of terminology, results have already been achieved, indi- 
cating that such performance can be secured most effectively. 
If automatic steering is to be of the greatest value in controlling the ship’s course, one 
of its paramount objects must be to suppress helm. The steering must be accomplished with 
the minimum of helm. I believe that only a few engineers and naval architects appreciate 
how great a resistance can be offered to the ship by even a small rudder angle, and it is this 
angle that must be suppressed. To do this, the act of anticipation becomes paramount, and the 
correction to course must be introduced long before an ordinary quartermaster would realize 
the necessity for change. This fact alone emphasizes the importance of a guiding element 
that is instantly and minutely responsive, to be employed as a base line so that the slightest 
departure from the course may be utilized to apply the correction. 
No magnetic compass can ever be relied upon to do this. So difficult is this part of the 
performance that some workers have felt that they must go outside the gyro compass and 
introduce a quantity of highly organized and expensive auxiliary mechanisms for accomplish- 
ing the result. At least one worker has proposed to employ intricate gyroscopic elements 
as auxiliaries. All of these have been found unnecessary, inasmuch as within the last ten 
years ways and means have finally been developed that prove that in the gyro compass 
