摘要 |
A rudder mechanism for a ship comprises a support bearing fixed to the bottom of a stern of the ship, a rudder shaft with one end rotatably supported by the support bearing, a swayable shaft member connected to the other end of the rudder shaft, and a rudder wing connected to the swayable shaft member and disposed behind a propeller of the ship. The swayable shaft member and rudder wing form a swayable wing portion swayable in a ship backward direction. The swayable shaft member comprises a projection fixed to the rudder shaft or the rudder wing, a projection receiver fixed to the other of them and engaged with the projection, and a rotatable shaft inserted into the engaged projection and projection receiver to enable them to sway relative to each other. The projection and projection receiver have restriction faces for restricting the swayable wing portion from swaying in a ship forward direction beyond a vertical position and from swaying in a ship backward direction beyond a maximum backward position. With this arrangement, the rudder wing will not be just behind the propeller of the ship while the ship is sailing, thereby improving the propelling efficiency and fuel consumption of the ship.
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