Why is the Captain's seat on a boat on the right side when a car driver is seated on the left?

Question

Can anyone explain this to me?

Answer 1

I always tell people it to off set the torque of the engine. True some not have engines. Large ships the steering not always on the right. My brother's boat the steering is on the left. But, it a common practice to be on the right.

In a time long past boats where much different than what we see today. Steering may have been with a paddle. We see this in some countries today. People ride in the boat like a taxi and the driver in back just works the oar to push and move the boat. So, depending if a person is Right/Left handed he will steer and paddle from the side he/she feels most comfortable. This may have been a design preference  as boats began to become more popular and advanced. People just preferred Right over Left.

I have seen this question asked here many times, and the answers "I have seen", may have missed one, none (Including myself) have been able to back up our answers with a legitimate reference.

Answer 2

convention

In the case of a car, you have a better view of the road when you are seated on the left; in countries in which people drive on the left, the driver sits on the right side

Answer 3

The reason is to counteract engine torque by added weight to right side of boat as the torgue is applied counterclockwise, true only on single engine boats or smaller boats. The engine torgue causes a pull to the left ( portside) so extra weight on right  (starboard) side balances helm.

Answer 4

I think Snagelfritz is right b/c from what I understand that people steering from the right side is also why the right side of a boat or ship is called the starboard side as it is a corruption of the word steorbord or calling it the steering side

Here is a bit from Wikipedia

The origin of the term comes from old boating practices. Before ships had rudders on their centerline, they were steered by use of a specialized oar. This oar was held by a cocksman located towards the stern (back) of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed sailors. This meant that the right-handed sailors holding the steering oar (which had been broadened to provide better control) used to stand on the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stýri meaning “rudder” and borð meaning “side of a ship”. The modern term "steering wheel" comes from the same language root as "starboard" or "steer board".

Similarly, the term for the left side of the boat, port, is derived from the practice of sailors mooring on the left side (i.e., the larboard or loading side) as to prevent the steering boards from being crushed. Because the words larboard and starboard sounded too similar to be easily distinguished, larboard was changed to port.

Answer 5

i drive a boat every weekend and i never thought about that!

Answer 6

The car driver is seated on the right same as the boat captain in Britain

Answer 7

Im in Oz so our car drivers are on the right,but our boats are also right hand drive as well,,,so I dont know ????