Some quick tips on Ocean Star:
She is ASD, with two azimuthing propellers in the stern.
The joystick controls are interesting, and allow more flexibility, but you don’t need to use them. Just note that the white arrows point in the direction of the shaft toward the screw. (That would be toward the stern of a fixed-screw ship.)
The unit pushes the stern in the opposite direction from the way the arrow points.
First, disable Precision Steering so that you can hold the Right-Hand Shift key to make incremental changes with the arrow keys, and also have rapid return-to-center by pressing one key.
Speed control:
Hold the Shift key while pressing the Up/Down keys to the desired RPM, then release the arrow key before releasing the Shift key. This controls both screws at the same time.
To stop both screws, just tap either U/D key. Ocean Star has a very long stopping distance, so it is usually necessary to go full astern.
Steering:
Hold the Shift key while tapping the L/R keys to rotate both units together. Each tap is 18 degrees.
A quick tap on either L/R key will return both units to center.
Remember that the stern will be pushed in the opposite direction to the arrows, so the ship will turn in the same direction as the arrows.
To turn to port, use the right arrow key.
To turn to Starboard, use the Left arrow key.
Maximum ROT is at 90 degrees. You can go beyond that if you want to lose way at the same time.
This ship has a very high moment of inertia, so meeting her takes practice.
The ROT indication is your best friend; learn the maximum ROT to achieve in order to turn the ship a certain number of degrees. Set rudder amidships when you reach that ROT.
Use small rudder angles for small course corrections.
You can do fancy stuff by operating the drives separately with the joysticks, but that’s for another day.
See also :
http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php/topic,9012.msg104399.html#msg104399 (http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php/topic,9012.msg104399.html#msg104399)
