🔍 Key Concepts

• Location and function of the tail shaft in a ship’s propulsion system • Difference between stern, tail, and propeller bearings • Which bearing is located in the stern tube where the shaft exits the hull

💭 Think About

• Visualize the shaft line from the engine to the propeller; which part of the ship does the tail shaft pass through just before the propeller? • Ask yourself: which bearing is designed specifically to support the shaft where it passes through the hull at the stern? • Consider which option sounds like a general term versus the specific engineering term used in ship construction plans.

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm what the term tail shaft means (usually the aft-most section of the propulsion shaft connected to the propeller). • Identify which bearing is located inside the tube in the stern that carries and aligns the tail shaft. • Eliminate any answer choices that refer to bearings used only at the propeller itself rather than along the shaft.