Waveney-class lifeboat
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_635530.jpg)
Larne Lifeboat RNLB William and Jane (ON 1079) in October 1997
|
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: |
|
| Operators: | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
| Preceded by: | Rother, Solent |
| Succeeded by: | Arun |
| Built: | 1964–1982 |
| In service: | 1964–1999 |
| Completed: | 22 |
| Retired: | 22 |
| Preserved: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | motor lifeboat |
| Displacement: | 18–19 tons |
| Length: | 44 ft 10 in (13.67 m) |
| Beam: | 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) |
| Draught: | 4 ft 2 in (1.27 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two diesel engines (various models) |
| Speed: | 15.4 knots (17.7 mph) |
| Range: | 190 nautical miles (350 km) |
| Crew: | 5 |
The Waveney-class lifeboat was the first class of lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) capable of operating at speeds in excess of 10 knots (12 mph). Based on an American design, 22 saw operational service between 1964 and 1999 at the RNLI's stations around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland. After being superseded by faster boats in the 1990s, many were sold for further use with lifeboat services abroad, notably in Australia and New Zealand.
The class name comes from the River Waveney which discharges into the North Sea at Great Yarmouth.
In the 1960s the RNLI's fleet consisted of motor lifeboats of limited speed due to the shape of their hulls. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) had developed a 44-foot motor lifeboat which planed across the surface of the water, the consequence of which is a reduced wetted surface area to the hull, and therefore a much higher speed. One was built for the RNLI by the USCG in Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard, Maryland, and this was put through extensive trials and proved capable of operating in restricted spaces, even though the propellers lacked the usual protection afforded to lifeboats.
The prototype was never given a name although the crews nicknamed it "The Yank". It entered trials in 1964 but the first production boats did not start to emerge until 1967. After six had been placed in service there was a hiatus which lasted until 1974 when production was restarted, and then continued through until 1982 by which time 22 were in service. The entire fleet was replaced between 1996 and 1999 as new Trent- and Severn-class lifeboats came into service, but many were sold for further use as lifeboats or pilot boats.
...
Wikipedia