Propeller Shaft Bearing Systems

Propeller Shaft Bearings

Shaft Coating

Water Quality Package

COMPAC

Thordon COMPAC is a high performance water lubricated bearing system primarily for “blue water” operating conditions. Specially formulated with a low coefficient of friction to reduce startup friction and eliminate stick-slip,

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RiverTough

Thordon RiverTough propeller shaft bearings operating in combination with hard coated nickel-chrome-boron sleeves are specially formulated to provide superior wear life in very abrasive water conditions and have proven their ability to last at least twice as long as rubber bearings.

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ThorShield

Thordon's ThorShield propeller shaft coating system provides corrosion protection against seawater. This toughened, 2-part epoxy coating is up to nine times more flexible than existing shaft coating products.

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Water Quality Package

The Thordon Water Quality Package is designed to supply seawater to the propeller shaft bearings for lubrication and cooling while also removing suspended solids from the seawater.

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Shaft Seals

SeaThigor

The Thordon SeaThigor Seal is a mechanical face seal for 300mm (11.8") to 750mm (29.5") water lubricated propeller shafts found in yachts, cruise ships, merchant ships, dredgers and naval vessels. The SeaThigor has evolved from a design first tested in 2003 and improved during the next decade.

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BlueWater Seal

The Thordon BlueWater seal is a water lubricated forward seal for 300mm (11.811”) to 1000mm (39.370”) propeller shafts found in various vessels, such as yachts, cruise ships, merchant ships and naval vessels. The simplicity of the seal design provides minimal seal maintenance.

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Documents

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Commercial Ship AFT Seal Oil Discharges PDF, 909.34 KB Factual Accounts of Oil Leaking from Propeller Shaft Stern Tubes Due to AFT Seal Damage.
The Facts about COMPAC Open Seawater-Lubricated Propeller Shaft Systems PDF, 367.92 KB
Oil Emissions from Propulsion Systems of Commercial Ships PDF, 322.29 KB
COMPAC System Brochure for Merchant Fleet Vessels PDF, 873.63 KB
RiverTough Bearings & Seals Brochure PDF, 3.37 MB Built for the Inland & Coastal Waterways

References

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Commercial Ship References PDF, 1.14 MB Shipowners using Thordon Seawater Lubricated Propeller Shaft Bearings
Water-lubricated Shaft Reliability Proven in Cruising PDF, 484.29 KB

Design

The final (fully finished) sizing of a Thordon elastomer or ThorPlas bearing can be determined by using the Thordon Bearing Sizing Calculation Program.

You cannot run the Thordon Bearing Sizing Calculation Program without a User Registration Number. Once you have a User Registration Number you can download the Program below and enter it when prompted.

Click here to Request a Bearing Sizing Program User Registration Number

If you have a Bearing Sizing Program User Registration Number, you can download the program here

Videos

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Since 1965 Thordon has been providing water lubricated systems, this video examines the different components in the COMPAC Seawater Lubricated Propeller Shaft Bearing System and how they operate. The various components covered in this video includes Thordon’s COMPAC bearings (AFT and FWD), Water Quality Package (WQP), and SeaThigor mechanical seal.

How a Thordon COMPAC stern tube bearing system works

Thordon water quality package provides a clean flow of lubricating seawater to the propeller shaft bearings. It takes only the seawater from the sea (through the sea chest), removes abrasive particles and pumps the water into the stern tube to lubricate the non-metallic bearings.

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Our Newsletter

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Read our most recent newsletter

Thordon Merchant Fleet NewsWorks 2023

Thordon’s web-based newsletter specifically developed for marine users of oil-free and grease-free bearings in the merchant marine sector. This newsletter includes articles that highlight our successes on tankers, bulk cargo carriers, ferries, and cruise ships with COMPAC seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearings, and ThorPlas-Blue deck equipment installed and used around the world. We also introduce Thordon’s new BlueWater Seal and highlight the largest rudder bearing Thordon has ever produced.
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Recent Marine News

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Thordon's Dredger References Grow with New Orders from Suez Canal Authority

Dec 02, 2020

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has replaced the rubber cutterhead bearings on the 102m (335ft) dredger Mahmoud Younis with a water-lubricated Composite bearing from Thordon Bearings. The retrofit, which took place at the Port Said Shipyard’s floating drydock, follows the success of a similar installation aboard CSD Mashhour, the largest dredger in the SCA fleet. Its rubber cutterhead bearings were replaced last year, providing the first Thordon installation with the Authority.
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NMDC Completes Umm Al Anber Refurbishment with Thordon Composite

Oct 06, 2020

Umm Al Anber, a 72m (236ft) heavy duty cutter suction dredger operated by Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) has completed the refurbishment of its cutterhead shaft bearings as part of an extensive refit at Dubai Maritime City. Thordon Bearings’ Dubai-based distributor for the Middle East, Ocean Power International LLC (OPI), replaced the cutterhead and intermediate line shaft bearings like-for-like with Thordon’s water-lubricated Composite system. The turnkey project included shaft dismantlement, laser alignment, in-situ line boring, calibration, installation and commissioning.
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