41ft Watson-class lifeboat

The 41 ft Watson-class was a non self-righting displacement hull lifeboat built between 1931 and 1952 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1931 and 1981.

RNLB Edmund and Mary Robison (ON812), 6th of 13 in the Watson 41 Class. Off Princes Dock, Liverpool, on the occasion of her naming ceremony.
Class overview
Name41ft Watson-class
Builders
Operators Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded byVarious
Succeeded by42ft Watson
Cost£5,600-£20,700
Built1933-1939, 1948-1952
In service1933-1982
Completed13
Lost2
Retired11
General characteristics
Class and type41ft Watson-class motor lifeboat
Displacement14-15 tons
Length41 ft (12 m)
Beam11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) - 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Draught3 ft 8 in (1.12 m)
Propulsion(As built) 2x35bhp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol
Speed712 knots
Crew8

History

edit

The 41 ft Watson was designed for service at stations which required a larger and more powerful boat than the standard carriage launched types, but which could not accommodate the larger Watson types through boathouse or slipway constraints. This is not to be confused with the earlier 41ft 'Aldeburgh' Beach Motor lifeboat, which was developed from the Norfolk and Suffolk type boat. Production ran from 1933 to 1939 and thirteen boats were completed. Between 1948 and 1952 a further four boats were built before attention turned to the much modified 42ft Watson type which appeared in 1954.

Description

edit

The 41 ft Watson had an aft cockpit with a cabin ahead of it containing the engine controls. There was a separate forward shelter and there was room in the two for sixteen people. The boats carried two sails as an auxiliary to the twin Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines. The type was put back into production in 1948, nine years after the last had been built, in a revised version with an enlarged cabin which replaced the forward shelter. From 1963 eight of the boats were re-engined with 47 bhp Ford-based Parsons Porbeagle 4-cylinder diesel engines.


Fleet

edit
ON[a] Name Built Builder In service Stations Re-engined Comments[1]
751 Abdy Beauclerk 1931 J. Samuel White, Cowes 1931–1958 Aldeburgh Sold 1959. Renamed St. Ita. February 2010, Houseboat at Rusheen Bay, Galway
758 Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn 1933 Groves & Guttridge 1933–1963 Shoreham Harbour 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1973. Renamed Dowager. October 2023, at IBTC, Lowestoft.
1963–1973 Relief fleet
761 Charles Cooper Henderson 1933 1933–1957 Dungeness Sold 1976. March 2023, Charter boat at Mill Green, Caversham, Oxfordshire
1957–1974 Relief fleet
762 Charles Dibdin
(Civil Service No.2)
1933 1933–1959 Walmer Sold 1959. April 1980, Pilot boat at Dover
769 Duke of York 1933 Groves & Guttridge 1934–1961 The Lizard No Sold in 1961. Reported in December 2023 at Castlebridge, Ireland.
783 The Viscountess Wakefield 1936 1936–1940 Hythe Lost at Dunkirk, 31 May 1940
806 Rachel and Mary Evans 1936 Groves & Guttridge 1937–1968 Barry Dock No Wrecked 12 April 1969 after breaking moorings at Weston-Super-Mare.
1969 Weston-super-Mare
807 Inbhear Mor 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1968 Arklow 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1974. December 2013, broken up at Ynyslas Boatyard in Borth.
1968–1973 Relief fleet
808 Mary Ann Hepworth 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1974 Whitby 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1975. Purchased 1988, was fully restored as a trip boat at Whitby but by June 2023 was at Caernarfon.
812 Edmund and Mary Robinson 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1950 New Brighton No.2 No Sold March 1964. In February 2016, broken up near Bromsgrove.
1950–1964 Relief fleet
813 Ann Letitia Russell 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1976 Fleetwood 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold April 1977. Under restoration from August 2015 at ABP Marine yard, Fleetwood Dock, and still there in December 2023.[2][3]
823 Matthew Simpson 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1972 Port Erin 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1976. Renamed Penros. May 2022, unaltered pleasure boat with the Hayling Island Yacht Company.
1972–1976 Relief fleet
824 John Pyremont 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1941 Tynemouth No Destroyed in air raid 9 April 1941.
856 Susan Ashley 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1948–1972 Sennen Cove 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Used as an RNLI boarding boat at Tynemouth 1979-1981. On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard from April 1996.
1973–1979 Barry Dock No.2
857 Glencoe-Glasgow 1949 Morgan Giles 1949–1960 Buckie 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1979. Renamed Vagrant. September 2019, being used as a pleasure boat at Burghead Harbour.
1960–1961 Girvan
1961–1965 Relief fleet
1965–1978 Portavogie
858 R.L.P. 1949 Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham 1949–1975 Swanage 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold August 1981. Renamed Beya. Was a workboat at Millport, Great Cumbrae in June 1989, now believed to have been given to a Sea Cadet group.
1975–1981 Relief fleet
859 Beryl Tollemache 1949 Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham 1949–1977 Eastbourne 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold 1979. Renamed Steadfast. August 2022, at Bath, Somerset
1977–1979 Relief fleet
897 St. Andrew
(Civil Service No.10)
1952 William Osborne 1952–1959 Whitehills 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1982. April 2022, a restored pleasure boat at New Ross Boatyard, County Wexford. October 2023, on display at West Wales Maritime Heritage centre, Pembroke Dock.
1959–1961 Relief fleet
1961–1968 Girvan
1968–1973 Arklow
1973–1976 Relief fleet
1976–1977 Girvan
1977–1982 Relief fleet
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

References

edit
  1. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  2. ^ "Ann Letitia Russell". National Historic Ships.
  3. ^ "Ann Letitia Russell Lifeboat". Visit Fleetwood. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
edit