Ball and socket bearing assembly for a rudder post

A ball and socket bearing assembly engaging a rudder post installed in the stern of a boat having a hull and maintaining its proper position regardless of the degree to which the post deviates from a vertical axis and is subjected to hydrodynamic forces seeking to displace the post, said assembly comprising:

• (a) a journal box mountable on a horizontal platform in the boat, said box having an internal spheroidal cavity;
• and
• (b) a bearing having a longitudinal bore through which the post extends, said bearing having a spheroidal section whose form conforms to that of the cavity, the spheroidal section being nested and rotatable in the cavity of the box and being confined thereby, and a cylindrical section integral with the spheroidal section and projecting out of an opening in the box, said bearing aligning itself with the post extending therethrough regardless of the degree to which it deviates from the vertical axis.