Why are the windows of the wheelhouse on seagoing vessels tilted “incorrectly”

And indeed: take a closer look at any sea vessel. Or more precisely, look at the wheelhouse, where the captain, his assistant, and the helmsman are. You will see that the glazing has a reverse slope.


Any vehicle officially approved for operation goes through a series of lengthy stages. These are design, development, construction of prototypes, testing. And only then – the conveyor. Therefore, there is nothing accidental here. This also applies to the captain's cabin of sea vessels. So why are the windows tilted the other way?

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This is the first reason. Thanks to this design of the windows, you can clearly see what is happening on the deck and along both sides. As a result, you can better control the situation on the ship. If the porthole were straight, you would have to "stick" your nose to it, otherwise you would not see anything on the deck. And what about the steering wheel in front of you, the instruments and control handles? It's funny, but they would then interfere with the view.


Glass tilted in a special way is less splashed during storms and rainy weather. And it does not suffer as much from birds that love to circle above the ship. The oncoming air flow blows away drops from a tilted window better than from a straight one.

And if something does get on the glass, the ship's centrifugal cleaner (a device that functions as a car's "windshield wipers") comes into play. The "slanted" window provides additional space above, on the ceiling. Sometimes secondary equipment is installed there: for example, devices that only require periodic monitoring.

Reflections and glare

Those who have traveled on tourist ships know that the ship spends most of its time traveling at night. During the day, it stops, and passengers admire the sights located near the ports.


When operating the liner in the semi-darkness, the captain or his assistant can see the reflection of instruments and other elements of the cabin environment in the forward windows. The reverse slope eliminates glare. In the cold season, such a design does not allow ice to cover the entire area of ​​the window: it simply slides down. And if there is heating, the process is accelerated.


The tilt also protects against the blinding sun: protective visors are not necessary. You can get rid of glare in another way: for example, using convex glass. However, this is technically more difficult and more expensive.

Strength

At sea, a storm with a high number of points, hurricane winds are not at all uncommon. It has already been proven that the portholes of the wheelhouse withstand the impact of the waves much more successfully. Due to the slope, the "captain's" windows withstand twice as much water pressure as those that are located strictly vertically. Needless to say: the destruction of the glass will distract from the control of the vessel, and this is already a "blow" to safety.


The question inevitably arises: what about river vessels? There is no talk of small boats or small boats. But, for example, the "Raketa" hydrofoils, which develop a decent speed? Here you have both waves and wind. Firstly, such vessels are not used in the cold season: ice and snow are not a problem for them.


The second point is the absence of strong storms on the rivers. And the third – the high-speed "Rockets" have aerodynamic qualities in the foreground: for example, streamlining, inadmissibility of eddies. And the forward-tilted windows contradict these requirements.