IB1 class lifeboat
Encyclopedia
IB1 class lifeboats are inflatable boat
Inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...
s serving in the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
RNLI Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) fleet. Although they are known as the "IB1" at times, they are the latest development of the D class lifeboat
D class lifeboat
The D class lifeboat EA16 is a class of inflatable boat formally operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has been replace by the D class lifeboat -Utilization:...
and as such are mainly referred to as a "D-Class".
This class of lifeboat is one of the smallest operated by the RNLI, and they are becoming a common sight at Lifeboat Stations round the coast. Unlike other members of the ILB fleet the IB1 (D-class) does not have a rigid hull, all others with the exception of the Arancia, hovercraft & ALB Tenders are Rigid Inflatable Boats or RIBs.
The IB1 normally has a crew of three or 4 and is primarily used for surfer/swimmer incidents as well as assisting in cliff incidents where the casualty is near the water. The very nature of its work requires a swift response, and the IB1 can normally be afloat within five minutes of the pagers going off.