Thordon bearings for articulating rudder

The articulating rudder belongs to a 9,280hp vessel which has undergone extensive repairs at the James Marine Paducah River Service yard in Kentucky, US. Articulating rudders are more prone to wear and tear because of higher operating pressures and abrasives.

The workboat operator was keen to find a grease-free bearing that would help increase the intervals between maintenance and reduce operational costs.

Thordon rose to the challenge with a bearing that uses the company’s ThorPlas-Blue material and by integrating a Thordon lip seal into the design.

“We found that by embedding a lip seal into the bearing, we could better prevent ingress of river water, sand, silt, and debris, which would otherwise rapidly wear the pins and bushings down, reducing the workboat’s in-service time,” said Kasey Cummings, technical sales manager, Thordon Bearings.

“The new design certainly optimises the operational and cost efficiencies associated with an articulated rudder.”

Introduced in 2020, this was the first workboat use for the new seal-embedded bearing and the first time that ThorPlas-Blue was used in the flap portion of an articulating rudder.

Thordon has since supplied 60 bearings for an additional 15 articulating rudders installed on other workboats operating in the US inland waterways.

As part of a comprehensive engine and propulsion overhaul, Thordon’s bearings were also installed to the vessel’s rudder flaps, main trunk, and pivot pins. In total, 16 ThorPlas-Blue bearings were supplied and fitted.