Lloyds II (RNLI Official Number 986)' was an lifeboat

Lifeboat (rescue)

A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...

 of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....

 (RNLI) stationed at Sheringham

Sheringham lifeboat station

Sheringham lifeboat station is an RNLI operated lifeboat station located in the town of Sheringham in the English county of Norfolk.Since 1992, the station has been inshore operations only - currently with an Atlantic 85 rigid inflatable - offshore lifeboats are to the east at Cromer and the west...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Norfolk from 8 October 1990 until April 1992 when she was replaced by the second generation Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) Manchester Unity of Oddfellows in April 1992. During the time that the Lloyds II was on station at Sheringham, she performed 13 service launches.

Design and construction

Lloyds II was built at the yard of Morris and Lorimer at Sandbank

Sandbank, Argyll and Bute

Sandbank is a village on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, 2.5 miles north of Dunoon on the coastal A815 or the inland A885. It sits on the southern shore of the Holy Loch, branching off the Firth of Clyde....

, Argyll

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

. She was an Oakley class self-righting design which combined great stability with the ability to self-right in the event of the lifeboat capsizing. This was achieved by a system of shifting water ballast. The system worked by the lifeboat taking on one and half tons of sea water at launching in to a tank built into the base of the hull. If the lifeboat then reached a crucial point of capsize the ballast water would transfer through valves to a righting tank built into the port side. If the capsize was to the starboard side of the lifeboat, the water shift started when an angle of 165° was reached. This would push the boat into completing a full 360° roll. If the capsize was to the port side, the water transfer started at 110°. In this case the weight of water combined with the weight of machinery aboard the lifeboat usually managed to stop the roll and allow the lifeboat to bounce back to upright.

Hull construction

The hull of the Lloyds II was constructed from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n mahogany

Khaya

Khaya is a genus of seven species of trees in the mahogany family Meliaceae, native to tropical Africa and Madagascar. All species become big trees 30-35 m tall, rarely 45 m, with a trunk over 1 m trunk diameter, often buttressed at the base...

 built with two skins. Each skin was diagonally laid with a layer of calico laid between the skins. The outer skin was ⅜ of an inch thick with the inner skin being ¼ of an inch thick. The keel

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 was iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and weighed 1.154 tons. The hull was divided into eleven watertight compartments. The lifeboat was 37 in 0 in (11.28 m) in length and 11 in 6 in (3.51 m) in beam and displaced 12 tons 1cwt, when fully laden with crew and gear. She was fitted with twin Perkins P4M, 43 BHP Diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

, which moved her over the water at 8 Knots. The wheelhouse was positioned amidships.

History

Lloyds II was the second lifeboat to be stationed at Sheringham. Lloyds II was also the last offshore lifeboat to serve at Sheringham lifeboat station. She had previously been stationed at in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 from July 1966 to June 1990 were she had saved 116 lives. The Ilfracombe RNLI station had been allocated a new Mersey class lifeboat

Mersey class lifeboat

Mersey class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from stations around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland...

 called Spirit of Derbyshire in July 1990. Lloyds II was sent to Sheringham temporarily until the RNLI changed the type of lifeboat coverage it required in this part of North Norfolk. The lifeboat was brought from Ilfracombe to Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

 by road on 6 October where she was re-floated. The Norfolk weather kept her in port for a day as a force seven storm raged. The next day a crew from Sheringham came to Yarmouth to take her round the coast to her new home. The voyage proved to be an eventful start to Lloyds II’s career at Sheringham. As the lifeboat left Great Yarmouth she was asked to assist the yacht Lady of Thanet whose engines had failed and was in danger of being swept on to Corton Sands south of Yarmouth. Lloyds II took the vessel in tow, relieving the Yarmouth and Gorleston

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station is a RNLI base in Norfolk, England. There were originally two separate stations at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston - two coastal towns either side of the River Yare. These were merged in 1926.-Great Yarmouth:...

 inshore lifeboat Joseph B. Press and proceeding back to Great Yarmouth. Just outside the harbour the tow rope parted and the Joseph B. Press helped to reinstate the tow. The lifeboat then proceeded on to Town Hall Quay with the Lady of Thanet.

Last of the offshore’s

Lloyds II was on station at Sheringham for 18 months during which time she was launched to service a total of twelve times. Her last launch took place on the 23 March 1992 when she went to the assistance of three Weybourne crab boats. She passed lifejackets to two of the boats and escorted the three back to the safety of the shore. This was not only the last rescue carried out by Lloyds II but also the last rescue from Sheringham by an offshore lifeboat. The RNLI had decided that the new lifeboat cover from Sheringham would be carried forward with an Atlantic

Atlantic 21 class lifeboat

B class Atlantic 21 class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK as a part of the RNLI inshore fleet. The Atlantic 21 is the first generation Rigid Inflatable Boat , first developed at Atlantic College, Wales. The rollbar assembly installed above the engines contains a self righting bag which is...

 21 class inshore lifeboat.

Fate

Lloyds II left the Sheringham boathouse for the last time on the 18 April 1992. Her crew of eight set off down the coast to Lowestoft

Lowestoft

Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...

, escorted by the new Atlantic 21 lifeboat B-536 (Unnamed) . Her launch carriage was sent to be with Sheringham’s previous Oakley The Manchester Unity of Oddfellows

Sheringham Lifeboat The Manchester Unity of Oddfellows ON 960

The Manchester Unity of Oddfellows was an lifeboat of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed at in the English county of Norfolk from 10 July 1961 until 1990 when she was replaced after 29 years service by an second generation Rigid Inflatable Boat in May 1992...

 for both to be preserved for posterity. Lloyds II was eventually broken up at Rainham in August 1993.