41ft Watson-class lifeboat
 | This article does not cite any sources. (October 2014) |
 RNLB Edmund and Mary Robison (ON812), 6th of 13 in the Watson 41 Class. On the occasion of her Naming Ceremony off Princes Dock, Liverpool
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | 41ft Watson-class |
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  RNLI |
| Preceded by | Various |
| Succeeded by | 42ft Watson |
| Cost | £5,600-£20,700 |
| Built | 1931-1939, 1948-1952 |
| In service | 1931-1982 |
| Completed | 18 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Retired | 15 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | 41ft Watson-class motor lifeboat |
| Displacement | 14-15 tons |
| Length | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Beam | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) - 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) |
| Draught | 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) |
| Propulsion | (As built) 2x35bhp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol |
| Speed | 71⁄2 knots |
| Crew | 8 |
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.
History[]
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. There was also a beach type with 7 inches more beam and strengthened hulls to withstand the rigours of beach launching. Production ran from 1931 to 1939 and thirteen boats were completed. Between 1948 and 1952 a further five boats were built before attention turned to the much modified 42ft Watson type which appeared in 1954.
Description[]
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 Beach types, as well as being wider, had various differences in deck layout, the first three (ON 751, 761/2) having end boxes and the fourth (ON 783) having raised bulwarks. 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 eleven of the boats were re-engined with 47 bhp Ford-based Parsons Porbeagle 4-cylinder diesel engines.
Fleet[]
ON is the RNLIs sequential Official Number.
| ON | Name | Built | Builder | In service | Stations | Re-engined | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 751 | Abdy Beauclerk | 1931 | J. Samuel White, Cowes | 1931–1958 | Aldeburgh No.1 | -- | Beach type. Sold in 1959 |
| 758 | Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1963 1963–1973 |
Shoreham Harbour Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1973 |
| 761 | Charles Cooper Henderson | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1957 1957–1974 |
Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Beach type. Sold January 1976 |
| 762 | Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.2) | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1959 | Walmer | -- | Beach type. Sold in 1961 |
| 769 | Duke of York | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1934–1961 | The Lizard | -- | Sold in 1961. Under threat of being broken up. Wexford, Ireland. |
| 783 | The Viscountess Wakefield | 1936 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1936–1940 | -- | Beach type. Abandoned at Dunkirk 31/5/1940 | |
| 806 | Rachel and Mary Evans | 1936 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1937–1968 1968–1969 |
Barry Dock Relief fleet |
-- | Wrecked 12/4/1969 after breaking moorings on
reserve duty at Weston-Super-Mare. |
| 807 | Inbhear Mor | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1968 1968–1973 |
Arklow Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1974 |
| 808 | Mary Ann Hepworth | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1974 | Whitby | 1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1975. Purchased 1988 and fully restored in Whitby. Preserved as pleasure boat and currently for sale. http://www.oldlifeboatwhitby.co.uk. |
| 812 | Edmund and Mary Robinson | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1950 1950–1964 |
New Brighton No.2 Relief fleet |
-- | Sold March 1964. Broken Up 2017 at Bromsgrove. |
| 813 | Ann Letitia Russell | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1976 | 1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold April 1977. Returned to Fleetwood in August 2015 for restoration and display. http://www.ann-letitia-russell-rescue-group.org.uk | |
| 823 | Matthew Simpson | 1939 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1972 1972–1976 |
Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1976 |
| 824 | John Pyremont | 1939 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1941 | -- | Destroyed in air raid 9/4/1941 | |
| 856 | Susan Ashley | 1948 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1948–1972 1973–1979 |
Sennen Cove Barry Dock No.2 |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Boarding boat at Tynemouth 1979-80.
Display at Chatham Historic Dockyard |
| 857 | Glencoe, Glasgow | 1949 | Morgan Giles, Teignmouth | 1949–1960 1960–1965 1965–1978 |
Relief fleet Cloughey-Portavogie |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1979 |
| 858 | R.L.P. | 1949 | Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham | 1949–1975 1975–1981 |
Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold August 1981 |
| 859 | Beryl Tollemanche | 1949 | Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham | 1949–1977 1977–1979 |
Eastbourne Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Beach type. Sold September 1979 |
| 897 | St. Andrew (Civil Service No.10) | 1952 | William Osborne, Littlehampton | 1952–1959 1959–1961 1961–1968 1968–1973 1973–1982 |
Whitehills Relief fleet Arklow Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1982 |
External links[]
- Watson-class lifeboats