How Does a Sternwheeler Steer?

An engine rotates the paddle wheel in the water to produce thrust, forward or backward as required. More advanced paddle-wheel designs feature "feathering" methods that keep each paddle blade closer to vertical while in the water to increase efficiency.

How did Sternwheelers steer?

They utilized rudders on both sides of the stern wheel. Side wheelers also had a rudder that was centerline on the stern.

How do you steer a steamboat?

The broad blade attached to the stern of a boat which, when moved from side to side, causes the boat to steer. Sternwheel river steamers invariably are equipped with more than one, sometimes as many as four or five, and rivermen refer to them plurally as "the rudders".