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What is your Trimtab?(DW #817)

Do you know what a Trimtab is?

It is a small six-inch wide strip of metal attached by hinges to the trailing edge of a ship’s rudder. As an engine’s hydraulics force the Trimtab into the path of oncoming water, the pressure generated against it assists the rudder in making its turn.

The Trimtab was invented to solve a critical engineering problem at the height of World War II. As the war raged on the high seas,  ever-larger battle ships were needed. As the ships grew in size, their steering mechanisms required more power to turn their rudders than their engines could produce. The tiny Trimtab was able to turn and change the course of gigantic ships with minimal power and effort. The  revolutionary invention of the Trimtab not only solved this crucial military problem, it also created a new paradigm for human greatness.

It has always fascinated me how such a tiny piece on the rudder of the ship can change the direction of the huge ship.

And it seems that...

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