Tamar class lifeboat
Encyclopedia
Tamar class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats
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...
operated by 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) around the coasts of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The Tamar class is the replacement for the Tyne-class
Tyne class lifeboat
Tyne class lifeboats were designed to serve the shores of the UK and Ireland as a part of the RNLI fleet. They are named after the River Tyne in north-east England....
slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
launched All Weather Lifeboat (ALB).
The class name comes from the River Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
in south west England which flows into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
where they are manufactured by Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...
.
History
Since 1982 the RNLI had deployed 17 knots (33.3 km/h) lifeboats at stations which launched their boats down slipways or needed to operate in shallow waters. The organisation desired to increase the speed and range of their operations so introduced 25 knots (49 km/h) and boats from 1994 where they could be moored afloat. They then needed to produce a boat with similar capabilities but with protected propellers and other modifications that would allow it to be launched on a slipway.The prototype Tamar was built in 2000 and was used for trials until 2006. It was sold in December 2008 to Kent Police
Kent Police
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
, becoming Princess Alexandra III, the force's permanent maritime vessel operating out of Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
. The first production boat, Haydn Miller entered service at in March 2006. A few of the early boats suffered problems such as fuel leaking under the floor of the engine control room around hydraulic lines. These boats were recalled and the problems rectified. There are very few reported problems associated with the vessel now as the design and manufacturing process is largely perfected.
Description
Coxswain
The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
and helmsman have seat-mounted throttles, trackerball and joystick controls of the rudder. Alternatively the boat may be monitored and control by two controls on the bridge: Dual throttle controls and joystick on the left; dual throttle, wheel and control-screen on the right. All aspects of the vessel may also be controlled from this position.
The lifeboat is completely water-tight allowing it to self-right with up to 60 people on board. The boat has the potential to carry a maximum of 120 passengers on board, but without self righting capability. The Survivors Space has room for 10 sitting and 8 standing. The Survivors Space is accessed either through the Wheelhouse or the fore deck Emergency Escape Hatch.
Each Tamar carries a Y Class
Y class lifeboat
The Y class lifeboat is a class of small inflatable boat operated by the RNLI of the United Kingdom and Ireland.The Y-class is mainly used as a small tender carried on board the RNLI All Weather lifeboats that serve the shores of the UK, and is normally found on the Severn and the Tamar class...
inflatable boat which can be deployed and recovered while at sea.There is a provision for a PWC (Personal Water Craft, more commonly known as a jetski) to be specified instead, should it prove more suitable.
Fleet
| ON | Op. No. | Name | In service | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1251 | FS002 | – | 2000–2006 | Sold in 2006 to Kent Police |
| 1280 | 16-01 | Peter and Lesley-Jane Nicholson | 2005– | Relief fleet |
| 1281 | 16-02 | Haydn Miller | 2006– | |
| 1282 | 16-03 | The Misses Robertson of Kintail | 2006– | Peterhead Peterhead Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006.... |
| 1283 | 16-04 | Spirit of Padstow | 2006– | |
| 1284 | 16-05 | Helen Comrie | 2006– | Longhope, Orkney Longhope, Orkney Longhope is a coastal settlement on the island of South Walls which is one of the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland. South Walls is linked to Hoy by causeway; Longhope is the largest settlement on the two islands.... |
| 1286 | 16-06 | Frank and Anne Wilkinson | 2007– | Relief fleet |
| 1287 | 16-07 | Lester Cromer Lifeboat Lester ON 1287 Lester ON 1287 is the current ALB lifeboat stationed at Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. Cromer is the first lifeboat station on the east of England coast to receive the latest Tamar class all-weather lifeboat.The lifeboat became officially operational at 3:55 pm on the 6th January 2008... |
2008– | |
| 1288 | 16-08 | Grace Dixon | 2008– | Barrow Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle... |
| 1289 | 16-09 | Baltic Exchange III | 2008– | |
| 1290 | 16-10 | Edward and Barbara Prigmore | 2008– | Relief fleet |
| 1291 | 16-11 | Mark Mason | 2009– | |
| 1292 | 16-12 | George Sullivan | 2009– | St Helier |
| 1293 | 16-13 | Victor Freeman | 2010– | Relief fleet |
| 1294 | 16-14 | City of London III | 2010– | |
| 1295 | 16-15 | Enid Collett | 2010– | Shoreham Harbour Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away... |
| 1296 | 16-16 | Molly Hunt | 2010– | |
| 1297 | 16-17 | Alfred Albert Williams | 2010– | Bembridge Bembridge Bembridge is an affluent village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England, and occasional claims that it is... |
| 1298 | 16-18 | Killarney | 2010– | Kilmore Quay Kilmore Quay Kilmore Quay is a fishing village near Duncormick, in County Wexford, Ireland. It has a population of 417.It is a fishing village, but its leisure facilities such as sailing, and sea angling charters are also of significant economic importance.... |
| 1299 | 16-19 | Irene Muriel Rees | 2011– | Walton and Frinton Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of... |
| 1300 | 16-20 | Rose | Undergoing trials before deployment to | |
| 1301 | 16-21 | John Buchanan Barr | Launched, going to Portpatrick Portpatrick Portpatrick is a village hanging on to the extreme south-westerly tip of mainland Scotland, cut into a cleft in steep cliffs.Dating back historically some 500 years, and built adjacent to the ruins of nearby Dunskey Castle, its position on the Rhins of Galloway affords visitors views of the... (as of 8/11/2011) |
|
| 1302 | 16-22 | Alan Massey | Undergoing trials before deployment to Baltimore Baltimore, County Cork Baltimore is located in western County Cork, Ireland. Baltimore is the principal village of the parish of Rath and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland... |
'ON' is the RNLI's Official Number; 'Op. No.' is the operational number carried on the hull. Stations given correct in 2009 unless otherwise stated.