Wrapping of a rudder shaft at QuantiServ Italy

New Video: Wrapping of Propeller Shafts and Rudder Stocks

Shaft wrapping is an activity that our specialists perform on a regular basis, mostly for new ships while they are under construction.

Whenever the design of a vessel mandates that the propeller shaft or rudder stock lies exposed to open seawater, then it should be protected against electro-chemical corrosion. This type of corrosion occurs in the presence of (sea-) water and air (or dissolved oxygen) and the usual way of avoiding it is to coat the shaft with a protective layer of fiberglass.

The following picture shows an example of a rudder stock showing severe signs of corrosion. This is the very outcome that wrapping prevents.

The wrapping process as such is very well established and the results are excellent. During dry docking, we have recently inspected some shafts that we have wrapped ten years ago. We found the wrapping in still perfect condition.

Witness here how our specialists are doing it:

Protecting exposed rudder stocks with fiber glass

QuantiServ’s resin engineers are used to work on a very wide variety of equipment. They are equally versed in repair jobs as in new installation work.

The work shortly described here falls into the latter category. In December 2016 we received for fiber glass wrapping two rudder stocks from a multipurpose frigate currently under construction in an Italian shipyard. The shipyard used to carry out the wrapping by themselves, in the yard. But they lacked the expertise and the right equipment, so decided to give these two rudder stocks to QuantiServ for wrapping in our workshop in Genoa.

The work included the sandblasting of the area to be wrapped, the verification of the surface roughness, the wrapping and final coating itself, as well as the spark testing. The surveyor from the shipyard, who attended the whole process, appreciated the result and said that the speed as well as quality of the work was superior compared to the earlier ones done by the yard.

Because of the good service and result, the shipyard intends to have the next few rudder stocks done at QuantiServ Genoa too.