RNLB ''Helen Smitton'' (ON 603) is a

Watson-class lifeboat The Watson-class lifeboat is a design of wooden lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1888 and 1991. There were several variations over the years but all ...

built by

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...

in 1910. ''Helen Smitton'' served as the lifeboat at

St Abbs St Abbs is a small fishing village on the southeastern coast of Scotland, within the Coldingham parish of Scottish Borders. The village was originally known as ''Coldingham Shore'', the name St Abbs being adopted in the 1890s. The new name was ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

, Scotland from 1911 to 1936 and was the village's first lifeboat.

Design and construction

''Helen Smitton'' is a non-self-righting, 38-ft

constructed from Honduras

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

on Canadian

rock elm ''Ulmus thomasii'', the rock elm or cork elm (or orme liège in Québec), is a deciduous tree native primarily to the Midwestern United States. The tree ranges from southern Ontario and Quebec, south to Tennessee, west to northeastern Kansas, ...

frames A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

and stringers. Her floors are iron. A layer of calico coated with white lead paste sits between each layer of the hull. A 1.5 ton fixed iron ballast

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

and a triangular drop keel that passes through the fixed keel are present. She was powered by a 37 hp Wolseley petrol engine. That engine is now missing.

Preservation

''Helen Smitton'' is undergoing preservation work at

Marloes Marloes is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the Marloes Peninsula west of Milford Haven and forms the western tip of the southern shore of St Brides Bay. It is within part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The parish h ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, West Wales, having been reduced to little more than a bare hull in poor condition and with structural problems. 95% of her original wooden hull remains. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels by

National Historic Ships National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

, with certificate number 2220.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Smitton Watson-class lifeboats 1910 ships Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats by name

603 __NOTOC__ Year 603 ( DCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...