It is made up of shafts bearings and finally the propeller itself.
How to make propeller shaft bearings for ships. Stern tube with bearing. Regardless of which style of gland you use nut or stud type we always pre pack them on the lathe and run them in at 1200 1800 shaft rpm thru many hot cold cycles. Excessive wear on the shaft bearings can often be traced to this cause trouble can be avoided and cathodic protection extended to the propeller if the shaft is properly earthed with a shaft earthing system. The electrical potential between shaft and hull can also cause a heavy current to flow in bearings when the oil film breaks down or is contaminated with seawater this current can cause deep pitting of the bearing surface.
Roller bearings are grease lubricated. The intermediate shafting figure 8 2 between the tailshaft and main engine gearbox or thrustblock may be supported in plain tilting pad or roller bearings. For a given ship speed if diameter of the propeller increases frequency of revolution decreases propeller efficiency increase with increasing diameter and fuel consumption decrease so diameter of propeller should be as large as possible so that maximum amount of hull wake can be used. The stern tube contains supports and several seals for the propeller shaft as it passes through the ship s stern before connection to the propeller.
The propeller shaft runs between the thrust block and the stern tube and is supported by a number of shaft bearings fitted along the length of the shaft. The thrust from the propeller is transferred to the ship through the transmission system. The two former types usually have individual oil sumps the oil being circulated by a collar and scraper device. The shafting is supported by an appropriate number of bearings.