Why do most boats have their steering wheels on the starboard or right side?
So, the weight of the “pilot” would help to stabilize the boat if he was on the right, so the steering wheel was placed there. Boat propellers turn clockwise, sez Leon, and hulls used to be designed in such a way that when there was torque on the prop, the right side of the boat would rise up. So the wheel was put on the right, so the weight of these “healthy sized” fishermen would counteract that. http://www.amphicars.com/acleft.htm early powered boats used automotive engines and often were simply the engine in the middle of a boat with an extension on the rear of the crankshaft to drive a propeller at the back of the boat. Most engines (and until recently all engines) turn in a clockwise direction when viewed from the rear. A high powered engine particularly in a small round hulled boat will succumb to the laws of physics and the boat will try to turn in the opposite direction to the propeller. This could be seen in the
