Mersey-class lifeboat
![]() 12-007 RNLB Spirit Of Derbyshire
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Class overview | |
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Name | Mersey Class |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | Rother, Oakley |
Succeeded by | Shannon |
Cost | £350,000 |
Built | 1987–1993 |
In service | 1988– |
Completed | 38 |
Active | 30 |
Retired | 8 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 14 t (14 long tons) |
Length | 11.62 m (38.1 ft) |
Beam | 3.81 m (12.5 ft) |
Draught | 1.02 m (3.3 ft) |
Propulsion | 2 × 280 hp (210 kW) Caterpillar 3208T diesel engines |
Speed | 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
Range | 240 nmi (440 km) |
Endurance | 10.25 hours approx. at cruising speed |
Capacity | 43 survivors (self-righting up to 21) |
Complement | 6 |
Mersey class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) from stations around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They are capable of operating at up to 17 knots (31 km/h) and can be launched from a carriage.
The class name comes from the River Mersey which flows into the Irish Sea in north west England.
History
During the 1960s and 1970s the RNLI introduced fast lifeboats capable of considerable greater speeds than the 8 knots (15 km/h) of existing designs. The first of these were only able to be kept afloat as their propellers would be damaged if launched using a slipway or carriage. In 1982 the steel-hulled Tyne-class came into service which could be launched down a slipway but weighed 25 tons so was not suitable for being moved across a beach on a carriage. The answer was to build a smaller boat with an aluminium hull, which became the Mersey Class.[1]
The first, unnamed, Mersey was built in 1986 and undertook trails during 1987 and 1988. It was then taken out of service and sold the following year. It was working as a trip boat in Westport, County Mayo in 2008 carrying the name Spirit. Two more boats were built in 1988, with the first one to take up active service going to Bridlington Lifeboat Station the following year.[2]
In 1989 12-11 Lifetime Care was built with a fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) hull. Boats built in 1990 continued to use aluminium but from 1991 FRC became the standard hull material.[2][3]
In 2014, the first of the replacement Shannon-class boats replaced Merseys at Dungeness, Exmouth and Hoylake. The RNLI intends to have 25 knot lifeboats at all offshore lifeboat stations by the end of 2019.
Description
The Mersey is designed to be launched from a carriage, but can also lie afloat or be slipway launched when required. Its propellers are fully protected from damage when launching or in shallow water by partial tunnels and two bilge keels. Its low height can be further reduced by collapsing its mast and aerials which then allows it to be stored in a boathouse. A sealed cabin gives it a self-righting ability.
Power comes from two Caterpillar 285 hp turbo-charged engines. It carries 1,110 litres (290 US gal) of fuel to give it a range of 240 nautical miles (440 km). It has a crew of six and can carry a X Boat inflatable which it can deploy at sea. Its survivor compartment can carry 43 people, but more than 21 prevents self-righting should the boat capsize.[3][4]
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Launching from a carriage and Talus MB-H amphibious tractor
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Launching from a slipway
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Stern showing the protected propellers
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Engine room
Fleet
ON[a] | Op. No.[b] | Name | In service | Principal Station | Launching method | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1119 | – | – | 1987–1988 | Sold 1989 | ||
1124 | 12-001 | Peggy and Alex Caird | 1988–1995 1995–2015 |
Bridlington Relief fleet |
Carriage |
Sold 2015. With Needles Pleasure Cruises
as 'Mersey Rose'. |
1125 | 12-002 | Sealink Endeavour | 1987–2018 | Hastings | Carriage | Replaced at Hastings by Shannon 13-28 on 20181013 |
1161 | 12-003 | Doris M Mann of Ampthill | 1990– | Wells | Carriage | |
1162 | 12-004 | Royal Shipwright | 1990–2016 | Relief fleet [5][6] | Sold 2016 to Mostyn Docks | |
1163 | 12-005 | Lady of Hilbre | 1990–2015 | Hoylake | Carriage | Stored 2015 |
1164 | 12-006 | Andy Pearce | 1990–2017 | Llandudno | Carriage | |
1165 | 12-007 | Spirit of Derbyshire | 1990–2015 | Ilfracombe | Carriage | Sold 2015. In Malta |
1166 | 12-008 | Lincolnshire Poacher | 1990–2017 2017- |
Skegness In store |
Carriage | |
1167 | 12-009 | The Princess Royal (C.S. No. 41) | 1990–2015 2015-2016 |
St Ives Relief Fleet |
Carriage |
Sold 1/6/2016 to Coleraine Harbour Commissioners (r/n Ulidia) |
1168 | 12-010 | Lily and Vincent Anthony | 1991– | Pwllheli | Carriage | |
1148 | 12-11 | Lifetime Care | 1989–2017 | Relief fleet | Sold in 2017 | |
1169 | 12-12 | Marine Engineer | 1990–1995 1995–2018 2018- |
Relief fleet Bridlington Douglas |
Carriage Slipway |
|
1170 | 12-13 | Keep Fit Association | 1991– | Filey | Carriage | |
1171 | 12-14 | Ann and James Ritchie | 1991– | Ramsey | Carriage | |
1172 | 12-15 | Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge | 1992– | New Quay | Carriage | |
1173 | 12-16 | Grace Darling | 1991– | Seahouses | Carriage | |
1174 | 12-17 | Kingdom of Fife | 1991– | Anstruther | Carriage | |
1175 | 12-18 | Fanny Victoria Wilkinson and Frank Stubbs | 1991–2016 2016- |
Scarborough Relief fleet |
Carriage |
|
1176 | 12-19 | The Four Boys | 1991–1998 1998–1999 1999–2016 |
Sennen Cove Relief fleet Amble |
Slipway Aloat |
Sold in 2017 |
1177 | 12-20 | Leonard Kent | 1991– | Margate | Carriage | |
1178 | 12-21 | Margaret Jean | 1992–2008 2008–2014 2014-2018 2018- |
Relief fleet Exmouth Relief Fleet Douglas |
Carriage Currently stationed RNLI Douglas - Afloat |
|
1181 | 12-22 | Ruby Clery | 1992– | Peel | Carriage | |
1182 | 12-23 | Robert Charles Brown | 1992–2016 2016- |
Swanage Relief fleet |
Slipway |
|
1183 | 12-24 | Lil Cunningham | 1992– | Rhyl | Carriage | |
1184 | 12-25 | Bingo Lifeline | 1992– | Relief fleet | ||
1185 | 12-26 | Moira Barrie | 1992– | Barmouth | Carriage | |
1186 | 12-27 | Pride and Spirit | 1992–2014 2014- |
Dungeness Relief Fleet |
Carriage |
|
1187 | 12-28 | Mary Margaret | 1992– | Relief fleet | ||
1188 | 12-29 | Eleanor and Bryant Girling | 1993– | Newcastle | Carriage | |
1189 | 12-30 | Her Majesty The Queen | 1993–1996 1996–1999 1999–2018 2018– |
Relief fleet Cromer Lytham St. Annes Relief fleet |
Carriage Carriage |
|
1190 | 12-31 | Doris Bleasdale | 1993– | Clogher Head | Carriage | |
1191 | 12-32 | Joy and Charles Beeby | 1993– | Berwick-upon-Tweed | Slipway | |
1192 | 12-33 | Fisherman's Friend | 1993–2016 2016- |
Relief fleet Clifden |
Afloat | |
1193 | 12-34 | Freddie Cooper | 1993– | Aldeburgh | Carriage | |
1194 | 12-35 | Inchcape | 1993– | Arbroath | Slipway | |
1195 | 12-36 | Royal Thames | 1993–2012 2012–2018 |
Eastbourne Leverburgh[7] |
Afloat Afloat |
|
1196 | 12-37 | Sylvia Burrell | 1993–2017 | Girvan | Afloat |
References
- ^ Wake-Walker, Edward; Deane, Heather; Purches, Georgette (1989). Lifeboat! Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 38–43. ISBN 0-7110-1835-9.
- ^ a b Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 30–35.
- ^ a b Wake-Walker, Edward (2008). The Lifeboats Story. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7509-4858-6.
- ^ "Mersey". Lifeboats and stations. RNLI. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Royal Shipwright (Relief)
- ^ New Lifeboat for Cromer
- ^ "Official opening of one of the RNLI's most remote lifeboat stations". RNLI. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
External links
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