Patent ID: 7614926

Claim:
A bearing arrangement for a propulsion system for a waterborne vessel comprising a hull structure, the propulsion system comprising a rotatable outboard housing mounted to the hull structure; said housing comprising a bearing member, a turning assembly for turning the outboard housing about an axis; a propeller shaft rotatably supported on the housing; wherein the bearing arrangement comprises a first pair of plain bearing surfaces that are in slidable contact with each other, said first pair of surfaces extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation, wherein one plain bearing surface of said first pair is part of the bearing member and the other plain bearing surface of the first pair is a part of the hull structure, and wherein the bearing arrangement further comprises a second pair of bearing surfaces arranged in the substantially longitudinal direction of the axis of rotation, one surface of said second pair being a part of the bearing member and the other surface of the second pair being a part of the hull structure, the arrangement being such that, in use, at least one of the pairs of plain bearing surfaces is in sliding contact with each other as the outboard housing rotates about the axis.