A high-speed water vessel including a steering arrangement for reducing
cavitation and its effects. The arrangement includes a twisted rudder
pair located downstream of a high-speed propulsor. The rudder pair may
also be contoured at a bottom portion thereof. The propulsor has at least
one propeller having a propeller diameter. In operation, the propulsor
produces a slipstream that contracts with distance from the propeller. To
avoid the effects of cavitation, the twisted rudder pair is positioned
outside and adjacent to the slipstream diameter, with the rudders of the
rudder pair separated by a distance that is less than the diameter of the
propellers. The rudders of the rudder pair may be in a substantially
parallel orientation with respect to each other. In gas turbine
applications, the rudder pairs may be rotated towards each other to
produce a rudder bucket for producing a negative thrust for stopping the
high-speed water vessel.