Severn class lifeboat
The Will (ON 1201)
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Severn class |
| Builders: | Berthon Boat Co, Green Marine (Hull Moldings) |
| Operators: |
 Royal National Lifeboat Institution
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| Preceded by: | Arun class |
| Cost: | £2 million |
| Built: | 1992–2005 |
| In service: | 1996– |
| Completed: | 46 |
| Active: | 44 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 40 t (39 long tons) |
| Length: | 17 m (55 ft 9 in) |
| Beam: | 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 1.38 m (4 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 25 knots (29 mph; 46 km/h) |
| Range: | 250 nmi (460 km) |
| Capacity: |
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| Complement: | 6 |
At 17 metres (55 ft 9 in) long, the Severn class is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Introduced to service in 1996, the class is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. They are stationed at 35 locations around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland to provide coverage up to 50 miles (80 km) out to sea.
In the 1980s the RNLI's fast Arun and Waveney all-weather lifeboats provided coverage 30 miles (48 km) out to sea, operating at up to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) to cover the distance in two hours in good weather. However, the RNLI felt that they needed the capability to extend their coverage to 50 miles (80 km) radius, which would require lifeboats with a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). This resulted in the 17-metre (56 ft) Severn and 14-metre (46 ft) Trent lifeboats.
The prototype Severn was launched in 1991 and was named Maurice and Joyce Hardy. Trials started the following year and lasted until 1998. In 1995, the boat was de-named. Problems were encountered during the trials with the "skegs" that protected the propellers, but were designed to protect the hull by breaking off if the boat hit rocks, as the first ones were too easily broken. Crashing through heavy seas at full speed caused damage to the hull, too. It was transferred to training work when it carried operational number TL-02 and was named Peter and Marion Fulton, but was withdrawn in 2004. It was sold in 2005; in 2008 it was in use as a dive boat at Buckie, carrying the name Gemini Storm.
The first production Severn was The Will. It had been built in 1995 by Berthon Boat Co (Builders of 21 of the 46 Severn-class lifeboats) for Stornoway but had to undergo several modifications before it was fit for service. It was eventually placed in the relief fleet in 1996 and shown to many lifeboat stations where the class was expected to be deployed. It so impressed the crew at Falmouth that they pressed the RNLI to station it there until their own boat was built, and so it was stationed there from January 1997 until December 2001 when it was replaced by Richard Scott Cox. In the mean time Tom Sanderson had been deployed at Stornoway in 1999. The Will returned to the relief fleet after its time at Falmouth and has continued in that role since. Construction of its sister boats continued until 2005.
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Wikipedia