Solent-class lifeboat

Sea Guardian, formerly R. Hope Roberts (ON 1011) at Australian National Maritime Museum, 2015
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded byWatson
Succeeded byTyne
Built1969–1973[1]
In service1969–2021
Completed11
Retired11
General characteristics
Typemotor lifeboat
Displacement27 tons
Length48 ft 6 in (14.78 m)
Beam14 ft (4.3 m)
Draught4 ft 8 in (1.42 m)
Propulsion2 x 110 bhp Gardner 6LX diesel engines
Speed9.5 knots (10.9 mph)
Range150 nautical miles (280 km)
Crew7

The Solent-class lifeboat is a steel-hulled version of the 48-foot-6-inch (14.78 m) Oakley-class self-righting lifeboat and is sometimes referred to as the 48-foot, 6-inch Oakley-class Mark III.[2] Solent Operational Numbers followed on from the first three 48-foot, 6-inch Oakleys and were interrupted by the last two Oakleys (48-12 and 48-13). The operational numbers of the Solent-class had three digits in the suffix to indicate a metal hull (as with Clyde, Waveney, Thames and Tyne classes, one Arun class and the first eleven Merseys). Two digits indicates a wooden, glass-reinforced plastic or fiber-reinforced composite hull.

Description

The Solent was powered by twin 110 bhp Gardner 6LX diesel engines which gave the boat a top speed of 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph). There were twin spade rudders installed which were coupled to Mathway manual steering gear.[3]

Apart from the steel hull, the Solent-class differed from the Oakley-class in its self-righting mechanism. The Oakley used a water ballast system, while the Solent class was self-righting as a result of its watertight superstructure. The Solent was the last class of traditional displacement-type lifeboats designed by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.[2]

There were two versions of the Solent, unofficially known as "Mark I" and "Mark II". The "Mark I" boats have a vertical steering wheel. Sliding doors provide access to the forward end of the wheelhouse on each side. The "Mark II" boats have a seated steering position with hinged wheelhouse doors at the after end of the wheelhouse. These boats entered service in 1972.[2]

The first four Solent-class boats (ON 1007-1010) and the last three (ON 1019-1021) were built by Groves & Guttridge at Cowes. The second four (ON 1011-1014) were built by Camper & Nicholson at Gosport.[4]

RNLI fleet

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name Built In service[5] Station Comments[4][5]
1007 48-004 George Urie Scott 1969
  • 1969–1978
  • 1979–1984
  • 1985–1989
  • 1989–1990
[Note 1] Sold 1990.
Renamed Lunga and Blue Highlander. Now named Highlander, at Ameland, NL, September 2025
1008 48-005 James and Mariska Joicey 1969
  • 1969–1986
  • 1987–1988
  • 1988–1990
[Note 2] Sold 1990.
Restored 2014–2021. At Restonguet Creek, Mylor, Cornwall, December 2025.
1009 48-006 Jack Shayler and the Lees 1970
  • 1970–1987
  • 1988
  • 1989
  • 1989–1993
[Note 3] Sold June 1994.
Renamed Anne with SAR Tallinn, Estonia. See below.
1010 48-007 David and Elizabeth King and E. B. 1970
  • 1970–1988
  • 1988–1989
  • 1989–1990
[Note 4] Sold 1990.
Renamed Island Lass and Storm. Now in unaltered condition bearing original name in private ownership at Glasson Dock, Lancashire, August 2025.
1011 48-008 R. Hope Roberts 1969
  • 1969–1978
  • 1979–1985
  • 1985–1987
  • 1987
  • 1987–1993
[Note 5] Sold 1993.
Renamed ANL Sea Guardian. Now named Sea Guardian in private ownership, Gold Coast City Marina, Queensland, Aus., March 2024.
1012 48-009 City of Birmingham 1970
  • 1970–1983
  • 1984–1993
  • 1993–1994
[Note 6] Sold July 1995
Renamed ADES 14 with ADES Uruguay. See below.
1013 48-010 The Royal British Legion Jubilee 1970
  • 1970–1978
  • 1979–1979
  • 1979–1986
  • 1986–1988
  • 1988–1990
[Note 7] Sold April 1990.
Renamed Ocean Jubilee, restored in Wakefield. Later renamed The Royal British Legion Jubilee but broken up in Knottingley, December 2020.
1014 48-011 The Three Sisters 1970
  • 1970–1988
  • 1988–1989
  • 1989–1990
[Note 8] Sold April 1990.
October 2018, Heavily converted cruiser, at Turnchapel, Plymouth, April 2025.
1019 48-014 Lady MacRobert 1972
  • 1972–1989
  • 1989–1993
[Note 9] Sold March 1994.
Renamed ADES 12 with ADES Uruguay. See below.
1020 48-015 Hugh William Viscount Gough 1973
  • 1973–1984
  • 1984–1988
  • 1988–1993
[Note 10] Sold September 1993.
Unaltered pleasure boat at Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, September 2021. Last reported under restoration at Miri, Malaysia, January 2026.
1021 48-016 Douglas Currie 1973
  • 1973–1974
  • 1974–1975
  • 1975–1984
  • 1985
  • 1986–1989
  • 1990–1992
[Note 11] Sold 1992.
Renamed Leon del Mar and Solent Sea Lion. Now in unaltered condition as Douglas Currie, in private ownership at Fraserburgh, Scotland, June 2025.
  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.

Other fleets

RNLI ON[a] Name Built In service[5] Station Comments[4][5]
1009
1970 1994–2006 Tallinn Broken up 2021.
1012
  • ADES 14 ILC 95
  • (ADES Uruguay)
 1970 1995–2015 Montevideo, Uruguay
  • Retired 2015.
  • Sold as a workboat, last seen in storage near Montevideo, December 2022.
1019
  • ADES 12
  • (ADES Uruguay)
 1972 1994–2021 Punta del Este, Uruguay
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

Notes

  1. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of Mrs Scott, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £70,000.
  2. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacy of Mrs Joicey, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,000.
  3. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacies of Miss Shayler and Mr Lees, and RNLI funds, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £59,323.
  4. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacy of Miss King, and an anonymous donor, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £59,323.
  5. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacies of Mrs Ronald, Mrs Hope and Mrs Roberts, plus an anonymous gift, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £70,000.
  6. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, funded by the City of Birmingham Lifeboat Appeal, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £72,000.
  7. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, funded by the Royal British Legion, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £72,000.
  8. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, an anonymous gift, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,000.
  9. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of 'The MacRobert Trust', built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £73,000.
  10. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of the Dowager Viscountess Gough and the Viscount Gough, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £73,000.
  11. ^ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of 'The Douglas Currie Trust' and the legacy of Mr Davidson, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,113.

References

  1. ^ Howarth, Patrick (1981), Lifeboat – In Danger's Hour. (Third Impression 1982 ed.), Hamlyn, p. 140, ISBN 0-600-34959-4
  2. ^ a b c Evans, Clayton (2003), Rescue at Sea – An International History of Lifesaving, Coastal Rescue Craft and Organisations, Conway Maritime Press, p. 161, ISBN 0-85177-934-4
  3. ^ "New £70,000 Lifeboat" (PDF). The Lifeboat. XL (429): 678–679. September 1969. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Morris, Jeff (2008). List of British Lifeboats Part 3 (Third ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 42–46.
  5. ^ a b c d Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2026). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2026. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 42–43.
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