Experiences in Rubber Bearing for Stern Shafting

Abstract

In recent years, accompanied with the development of oil lubricating stern system, application of sea water lubricating system to the large/medium size vessels has been scarcely found. On the other hand, water lubricated rubber bearings are installed widely to medium/small size vessels in Japan, which navigate in the inland seas and the coast.
This paper is the investigation report describing the experiences in rubber bearings installed to them, such as annual change of bearing clearance which shows the wear of bearing and shaft sleeve and the interval of replacement for various kinds of vessel which had been in service for longer than 4 years with the main engine power of over 3, 000 ps.