Are you referring to whatever effect it may have had on Columbus? Because the Norse discovered it half-a-millenium before him, and they didn't have anything to do with the Crusades.

They were not very good navigators.

They weren't. America had been discovered by both the Africans and the Norse long before the Christians. But because this is a "christian" nation, those discoveries are overlooked so that Columbus can keep his crown.

well everyone has already mentioned the Norse were there first, which is true, so let's elaborate on this question considering that there were people there first before the crusaders. But since we live in a christian founded nation that still exists then we recognize that "version" of history and not the accurate one. So to better word the question for answering correctly the questions should be "how was it the crusaders came to find the continent that would become america?" And the answer is...trade. To maintain the empire and keep the crusades going so as to not let the christian influence slip from the conquered lands, it took a lot of money to keep an army that large moving and going. Trade was opened up between the east and eaurope and many people who were in the east as soldiers came to know and love many things they found in the east from clothing to foods, spices, and other goods. They sent these items home as gifts and demand grew for them. Trade routes at the time were done by land and took very long to get items from the east to western europe. As we all know if we read our history books, in 1492 Columbis sailed the ocean blue...well Columbus wasn't looking for America, he was looking for a way to sail west and find his way into the east by way of india..hence why we called native americans indians because when columbus found America he thought it was India...it wasn't until Amerigo Vespucci got involved that it was confirmed that the land Columbus found was NOT the easter edge of Asia..hence we named America, America after Amerigo and not Columbica after Columbus. These voyages were all financed by and for the crusaders and the queen to ensure a quicker route to Asia and increased trade to ensure military presence and power in the East.