Shannon class lifeboat on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Shannon-class lifeboat (previously FCB2 – Fast Carriage Boat 2) is the latest class of lifeboat currently being deployed to the
In 2008, FCB2 development was delayed due to hull shape issues, as trials showed crews would be subjected to unacceptable shocks and excessive horizontal shaking in high seas. The RNLI indicated that the project would be extended by at least three more years to research a new hull shape.
In April 2009 it was announced a new hull had been chosen. The Shannon class prototype boat was completed late 2011 when active service was expected to start in mid-2013.
In April 2011 it was announced the class would be named after the
At many stations Shannons are launched by a newly designed Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) by which a tractor propels the lifeboat on its cradle into the water. The cradle is then tilted and acts as a mobile slipway as the boat is launched by release of a single bow strop from the wheelhouse, rather than the old carriage launched method of four chains being released by crew members on deck. Recovery is bow first onto the cradle, which then rotates through 180 degrees, enabling the boat to be launched again within ten minutes. An increasing number of Shannons are kept afloat at moorings or a pontoon berth as they replace Trent class boats and the boats are also capable of being slipway launched, although only currently has a slipway launched Shannon. The boat at uses the same davit crane system as the previous lifeboat.
RNLI Fleet
{{RNLI lifeboat classes Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways.
Founded in 1824 ...
fleet to serve the shores of the British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. While the Shannon class has mainly replaced the lifeboats, it has also replaced some and lifeboats, and a lifeboat.
History
The experimental boat, named ''Effseabee Too'' underwent sea trials during 2005–2008. It is based on a Camarc Pilot vessel design, and was designed by RNLI engineers, with a fibre-reinforced composite hull, powered by twin water jets. It had a top speed of approximately , but was planned to be rated down to when the final design was put into production.
In 2008, FCB2 development was delayed due to hull shape issues, as trials showed crews would be subjected to unacceptable shocks and excessive horizontal shaking in high seas. The RNLI indicated that the project would be extended by at least three more years to research a new hull shape.
In April 2009 it was announced a new hull had been chosen. The Shannon class prototype boat was completed late 2011 when active service was expected to start in mid-2013.
In April 2011 it was announced the class would be named after the River Shannon
The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...
, the longest river in Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. This is the first time that the name of an Irish river has been used for a class of RNLI lifeboat.
After boatyard acceptance in March 2012 the first of the fleet went through sea acceptance trials in 2012.
Early hulls were moulded by SAR Composites and up to ON1318 were fitted out by Berthon Boat Co. of Lymington
Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England.
The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...
. From ON1319 fitting-out progressively switched to the RNLI All-Weather Lifeboat Centre (ALC) at Poole, to which hull moulding also transferred from ON1330.
Service
The first Shannon-class to be delivered for service was demonstrated atDungeness
Dungeness (, ) is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the ham ...
, Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
on 21 February 2014. The boat, to begin active service the following month, has been named ''The Morrell'' in honour of Barbara Morrell, a keen fundraiser for the RNLI who bequeathed the service £6 million which she asked to be used for a lifeboat for Kent.
The Shannon class uses similar Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) technology to that of the lifeboat so that crew members can operate all of the boat's systems collaboratively without leaving their seats. Crew seats are also similar to the Tamar, sprung to reduce the shocks in heavy seas.
At many stations Shannons are launched by a newly designed Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) by which a tractor propels the lifeboat on its cradle into the water. The cradle is then tilted and acts as a mobile slipway as the boat is launched by release of a single bow strop from the wheelhouse, rather than the old carriage launched method of four chains being released by crew members on deck. Recovery is bow first onto the cradle, which then rotates through 180 degrees, enabling the boat to be launched again within ten minutes. An increasing number of Shannons are kept afloat at moorings or a pontoon berth as they replace Trent class boats and the boats are also capable of being slipway launched, although only currently has a slipway launched Shannon. The boat at uses the same davit crane system as the previous lifeboat.
Shannon lifeboat fleet
Notes
References
External links
RNLI Fleet
{{RNLI lifeboat classes Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats