BALIWAG

MARITIME
ACADEMY
Naval Architecture

Bachelor of Science in
Marine Engineering MARE
LO4.1:
The cadets must Identify the different types of
rudder

Topic
Types of Rudders
 What is Rudder?

RUDDER
(the blade-type structure that is positioned at the stern behind the propeller. )

•  rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, 

submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance that moves
through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft,
the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor
 and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane.
 What is Rudder?
P FACTOR & ADVERSE YAW
also known as the asymmetric blade
effect and asymmetric disc effect is an 
aerodynamic phenomenon experienced
by a moving propeller, where the
propeller's center of thrust moves off-
center when the aircraft is at a high 
angle of attack.
 Types of Rudders

RUDDER
•  SPADE OR BALANCED RUDDER
• UNBALANCED RUDDER
• SEMI-BALANCED RUDDER
• FLAPS RUDDER
• PLEUGER RUDDER
 Types of Rudders
SPADE OR BALANCED RUDDER
(the blade-type structure that is positioned at the stern behind the propeller. )

• A spade rudder is basically a rudder plate that is fixed to the

rudder stock only at the top of the rudder. In other words, the
rudder stock (or the axis of the rudder) doesn’t run down along
the span of the rudder.

• Spade Rudders are applied in vessels with long sharp stems.

It has little strength on ruddertrunk, compacted steering gear
and high manoeuvrability.
 Types of Rudders
SPADE OR BALANCED RUDDER

• Spade or balanced rudder are usually

Applied extensively to single and twin-screw vessels,
including small power craft, yachts,
ferries, warships, and some large merchant ships.
 Types of Rudders
UNBALANCED RUDDER
(the blade-type structure that is positioned at the stern behind the propeller. )

• A rudder with all of its area aft of the turning axis. At no angle
rudder is balanced. The Axis of rotation is the leading edge.
Construction of Rudder. Modern rudders are of streamlined form
and are fabricated from steel plate, the plate size being stiffen by
internal webs.

• It is applied when a vessel is unfit for a balanced rudder. It is

meant for small ships of deep draft.
It can endure large stresses.
 Types of Rudders
UNBALANCED RUDDER
• An unbalanced rudder has no area projecting forward.
The ones most commonly seen on yachts are semi-balanced,
and spade rudders.
Spade rudders have no support or bearing
along the bottom of the blade.
Rudders are moved by torque provided by
tiller arms on each rudder.
The tiller arms are controlled by hydraulics,
which make up the steering system.
 Types of Rudders
SEMI-BALANCED RUDDER

• A rudder with a small part of its area, less than 20%, forward of
the turning axis. At no angle rudder is balanced. Axis of rotation
lies less than 0.2 L. Unbalanced rudder. A rudder with all of its
area aft of the turning axis. At no angle rudder is balanced. Axis
of rotation is the leading edge.

• It is applied when a large rudder is required and the vessel has a

small steering gear. It provides high manoeuvrability.
 Types of Rudders
SEMI-BALANCED RUDDER

• A rudder with a small part of its area, less than 20%, forward of
the turning axis. At no angle rudder is balanced. Axis of rotation
lies less than 0.2 L. Unbalanced rudder. A rudder with all of its
area aft of the turning axis. At no angle rudder is balanced. Axis
of rotation is the leading edge.

• It is applied when a large rudder is required and the vessel has a

small steering gear. It provides high manoeuvrability.
 Types of Rudders
SEMI-BALANCED RUDDER
• It would be necessary to take into account the 
shear force and bending moment on the stock in checking that
the strength was adequate. The bending moment and shear
forces will depend upon the way the rudder is supported. If
astern speeds are high enough the greatest torque can arise
then as the rudder is less well balanced for movements astern.
 Types of Rudders
FLAPS RUDDER
• A Flap Rudder (Becker rudder) is a specific type of multi-section
rudder used on boats and ships. The hinged aft section gives the
rudder an extra control surface, enhancing its efficiency.
According to Kongsberg, “A flap rudder produces more side force
than a classic rudder of equivalent size.”

• It is meant for vessels that require to be highly maneuverable.

It provides high maneuverability, but a complicated linkage
system.
 Types of Rudders
FLAPS RUDDER
• Designed to improve the effective lift generated by the rudder
and hence improve the maneuverability of the craft. The rudder
consists of two or more sections that move relative to each other
as the helm is applied and the angle of the main or driven
section moves, thus the shape of the rudder changes dynamically
as the angle of the helm is changed.
 Types of Rudders
PLEUGER RUDDER

• The Pleuger rudder (also known as a Dutch rudder) is a power-

assisted ship's rudder. It creates a flow of water in the direction
the rudder points are powered by an auxiliary electric motor.
This aids maneuverability at low speeds greatly since it operates
on a similar principle to a thruster.

• This aids maneuverability at low speeds greatly, since it operates

on a similar principle to a thruster.
 Types of Rudders
PLEUGER RUDDER
• The Pleuger rudder is necessarily mounted in the flow from the
main engine's propeller in a ship with an odd number of
propellers. If the Pleuger and the main engine are run at the
same time, the Pleuger can often be torn away. The thrust
produced by the Pleuger rudder is sufficient to power the ship in
slow-speed manoeuvres when the force required to move the
vessel is relatively small.
 HOW DOES A RUDDER WORK ON A SHIP?

RUDDER
(the blade-type structure that is positioned at the stern behind the propeller. )

• The selection of the proper type of rudder is as important as the

location of the rudder behind the propeller. The location of the
rudder should be such that it is properly oriented within the
propeller’s outflow, so as to produce the required turning
moment on the ship

https://youtu.be/k1YxpOg3r6U
 SUMMARY

RUDDER
Within this topic, Cadets must identify the different types
of rudders and also know the importance of each type of
rudder. There are 5 classifications of the rudder that starts
from balanced, unbalanced, semi-balanced, flaps, and
lastly pleuger rudder. Every rudder has different uses that
will differ depending on the different factors. Like hull
forms, propeller design, the arrangement of the stern, and
also what type of ship is it.