Rother-class lifeboat

Privately owned former Rother-class lifeboat Ex RNLB Harold Salvesen departing Donaghadee
Class overview
Builders:	William Osbourne, Littlehampton Groves & Gutteridge, Cowes
Operators:	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded by:	Oakley
Succeeded by:	Mersey
Built:	1972–1982
In service:	1973–1993
Completed:	14
Retired:	14
General characteristics
Displacement:	13 tons
Length:	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Beam:	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Draught:	3 ft 6 in (1.07 m)
Propulsion:	2 x 52 hp Ford Thornycroft 250 diesels
Speed:	8 knots (9.2 mph)
Range:	180 nautical miles (330 km)
Complement:	7

The Rother-class lifeboat was a self-righting lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1972 and 1995. They were based on the 37 ft Oakley-class lifeboat.^[1]

History

The Rother-class was the final displacement hull lifeboat produced by the RNLI. As a result of the decision to have fast lifeboats at all all-weather stations they had a shorter than usual career and none of the 14 built reached 20 years service. The 1982 built RNLB James Cable (ON 1068) was the last displacement hull boat in RNLI service when withdrawn from Aldeburgh in December 1993.

Design

The Rother-class was a development of the 37 ft Oakley boat, like its predecessor primarily intended for carriage launching, although 6 of the 14 went to slipway stations. A major change was the abandonment of the Oakley's complicated water ballast self-righting system. The Rother achieved its self-righting ability from its extended watertight superstructure and all had an enclosed wheelhouse with the radar mounted on the roof. Twin 52 hp Ford Thorneycroft 250 four cylinder diesels gave a maximum speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph) and at this speed the range was around 180 nautical miles. The boats built for Walmer and Aldeburgh had strengthed hulls for beach launching over skids.

Fleet

Note: Op No's 37-01 to 37-26 were allocated to Oakley-class lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1]	Op. No.[lower-alpha 2]	Name	Built	In service	Principal Station	Launching method	Further use[2]
998	37-27	Osman Gabriel	1972	1973–1992	Port Erin	Slipway	Sold March 1993
999	37-28	Diana White	1973	1973–1991	Sennen Cove	Slipway	Sold 1992. Named Joseph Day in Tauranga, NZ.
1000	37-29	Mary Gabriel	1973	1974–1990 1990–1992	Hoylake Rhyl	Carriage Carriage	Sold October 1992
1022	37-30	Harold Salvesen	1973	1974–1986 1986–1992	Amble Relief fleet	Afloat --	Sold October 1992
1023	37-31	J. Reginald Corah	1974	1975–1992	Swanage	Slipway	Sold June 1995
1024	37-32	The Hampshire Rose	1974	1975–1990 1990–1992	Walmer Relief fleet	Beach --	Sold October 1992. Charter boat doing lifeboat trips ilfracombe devon
1046	37-33	Silver Jubilee (Civil Service No. 38)	1977	1978–1991 1991–1993	Margate Relief fleet	Carriage --	Sold March 1994
1047	37-34	Horace Clarkson	1977	1977–1987 1987–1993	Moelfre Relief fleet	Slipway --	Sold May 1993
1048	37-35	Alice Upjohn	1976	1977–1992 1992–1993	Dungeness Relief fleet	Carriage --	Sold 1995. Ivan Talley Rescue,Greymouth, New Zealand. Into private hands as Alice Upjohn at Lyttelton, NZ.
1054	37-36	Shoreline	1979	1979–1982 1982–1993	Blyth Arbroath	Slipway Slipway	Sold February 1994
1055	37-37	Duke of Kent	1982	1979–1993	Eastbourne	Carriage	Sold June 1995. Survey Boat Tayport harbour.
1063	37-38	Princess of Wales	1982	1982–1992 1992–1993	Barmouth Relief fleet	Carriage --	Sold May 1993
1064	37-39	The Davys Family	1981	1981–1994 1986–1993	Shoreham Harbour Relief fleet	Slipway --	Sold July 1995
1068	37-40	James Cable	1982	1982–1993	Aldeburgh	Beach	Sold August 1994. To ADES 13, Uruguay

1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
2. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

References

1. "Rother class lifeboat". Lifeboats Online. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
2. Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 22–27.

External links

• RNLI