RNLB Thomas McCunn (ON 759)
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RNLB '' Thomas McCunn'' (ON 759) is a
Longhope Lifeboat Thomas McCunn ON 759
lifeboat stationed at
Longhope Longhope is a village in west Gloucestershire, situated within the Forest of Dean, England, United Kingdom. Arthur Bullock, who was born in Longhope in 1899, described its location as follows: The parish occupies the most easterly valley in the ...
in
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
, Scotland,OS Explorer Map: Orkney - Hoy, South Walls & Flotta: Published: Ordnance Survey: from January 1933 until April 1962. During which time she was launched on service 101 times and saved 308 lives. After ''Thomas McCunn'' left Longhope she was placed into the reserve fleet for ten years before being sold and used as a pleasure boat. In 2000 she was bought by
Longhope Lifeboat Museum Longhope Lifeboat Museum is a museum at Brims on the island of Hoy in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The museum's main exhibit is the former lifeboat ''Thomas McCunn'', the lifeboat that served the islands of Hoy and South Walls between 1933 and ...
. The lifeboat is now at the centre of a display in the old slipway at Brims and is still launched on special occasions.


Design and construction

''Thomas McCunn'' was built at the yard of Groves and Guttridge Ltd on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, England. Her hull is constructed using double diagonal planking of
Honduras Mahogany Honduras mahogany is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Swietenia humilis'' a small tree with a restricted range from southern Mexico to northern Central America *''Swietenia macrophylla ''Swietenia macrophylla'', commonly know ...
on a framework of
Teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...
ribs and beams with the
stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
and
stern post A sternpost is the upright structural member or post at the aft end of a ship or a boat, to which are attached the transoms and the rearmost part of the stern. The sternpost may either be completely vertical or may be tilted or "raked" slightl ...
s and her
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 ...
of
English oak ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soil ...
. The stern and stem posts are grown to the required shape to give the lifeboat its strength and sturdiness. The ''Thomas McCunn'' was long and wide. The hull is divided into seven watertight compartments, of which the engine room is one. The hull is fitted with 142 mahogany air cases, all individually made to fit into its allocated position in the hull. Her equipment included the latest innovations of the time which included a line throwing gun and an electrically powered
searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...
.


Engines

The lifeboat was originally powered by two 40bhp 4-cylinder Weyburn CE4 petrol engines, but after sale by the RNLI was re-engined in 1973 with two Ford Mermaid diesel engines. The last of the petrol engines was designed by
Watson Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy, and detect orga ...
himself. The lifeboat had a top speed of


Service

The boat served from January 1933 - April 1962 at
Longhope Lifeboat Station Longhope Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Longhope on the island of South Walls, in Orkney, Scotland. It opened in 1874 and since 2004 has operated a lifeboat. In 1969 it ...
. During this time it was launched 101 times and saved 308 lives. From 1962 - 1972 it was a reserve-boat and has 8 launches with 7 savings during this time. In August 1972 the boat was sold and returned later to Longhope for display.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Mccunn 1933 ships Tourist attractions in Orkney History of Orkney 1933 establishments in Scotland Museum ships in the United Kingdom Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels Watson-class lifeboats
Thomas McCunn RNLB '' Thomas McCunn'' (ON 759) is a
Longhope Lifeboat Thomas McCunn ON 759
lifeboat stationed at
759 __NOTOC__ Year 759 ( DCCLIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 759 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...