Vesconite: Fast Turnaround on Rudder Bearings

Workboats, ships and megayachts rely on large and extra-large rudder bearings. Having a vessel in dry dock for days or weeks while waiting for an oversized bearing is costly and frustrating, said Vesconite, whose machined Vesconite and Vesconite Superclad replacements—up to 10' in diameter with practically any wall thickness—are available for immediate shipment from a global network of dedicated dealers, and with fast turnaround times for custom sizes.

Vesconite is an advanced, internally lubricated polymer that excels where high load strength, dimensional stability, and zero swelling or softening is required. It performs in dirty and silty water, and has long wear life—more than 10 times that of bronze—so maintenance costs are reduced. And unlike metal bearings, it doesn't need oil or grease lubrication, so it's environmentally friendly and fully compliant with EPA Uniform National Discharge Standards.

Superclad is a Vesconite bearing that is built up and encased on the outside surface to achieve the required external dimension. Using a high-strength epoxy reinforcing system, the resultant jacket provides an extremely strong final structure, combined internally with the exceptional wear properties of Vesconite. Freeze fitting makes installation easy and straight-forward.

Vesconite bears type approval certifications from ABS, Bureau Veritas, China Classification Society, China Corporation Register of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, Germanische Lloyds, Korean Register of Shipping Lloyds Register and Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. It is accredited to ISO 9001.

Vesconite said it provides vessel owners fast turnaround times on custom bearings. Easily machined to tolerances of +/-0.001", the material is also available in its raw form in hollow bar, solid rod and plate stock shapes, in a broad range of dimensions and thicknesses.