Heritage
Unsung heroes, brought to you by the letters ‘A’ and ‘C’
You’ve heard of the B class lifeboat (otherwise known as the Atlantic 85). You know of the D class, and the E class. But what about the gaps in between? Was there ever an A class? Or a C class? There was. And this is their story.
A is for ‘A bit of a first’
It’s the 1960s. And, with more time and money to spend, more people are heading to the seaside. Unsurprisingly, seaside emergencies are increasing too. A fast, simple rescue craft is needed. The inflatable D class soon proves its worth, and as its effectiveness becomes undeniable and more stations adopt it, the RNLI explores ideas for a lifeboat with even greater capabilities - including the potential for night rescues.
During this decade, and into the 70s, a number of inshore craft are developed, and the brief for what later becomes the A class is this: the lifeboat should be 6-7m in length, of shallow draught, be capable of exceeding 20 knots and be able to sustain high speeds in rough water.
Two rigid-hulled craft are tested – both have a hull similar to that of a powerboat. The first – the Hatch – is named after one of the RNLI’s senior draughtsmen. Its design enables prolonged searches without tiring the crew – a benefit not afforded to crews of inflatable boats. After trials however, the other rigid-hulled boat in development – the McLachlan (named after its designer) – is deemed superior, in part due to its seawater ballast stability tanks and a ragged chine hull.
Ragged chines are steps which reduce the surface area in contact with the water, minimising the pounding experienced in hard-chine boats. The chines cushion the underside and deflect spray. Inside, watertight compartments filled with polyurethane foam give the McLachlan, as described by the RNLI, ‘an ample excess of positive buoyancy’. The first (single-engined) model’s hull is made of three skins of mahogany. But later (twin-engined) A class models become the RNLI’s first lifeboats built from glass reinforced plastic (also known as fibreglass).
Throttle-forward to the 70s and 80s
In later years, the A class was used as a boarding boat, but McLachlans at Weston-super-Mare, Oban, Ramsgate, Plymouth and Torbay took part in numerous rescues. The last of the original dozen A class models built – A512 – served at Torbay for 12 years, and for its last 3 months at Falmouth, before being retired in 1988. There were a few A class spin-offs however, including three based on the Dory design. The very last A class in service, A-513 (a Boston Whaler Outrage), served Poole Lifeboat Station and was withdrawn in 1994, and with it, the RNLI’s use of purely rigid-hulled inshore lifeboats.
You can see an A class on display as part of the RNLI’s Historic Lifeboat Collection at Chatham. A-504 served at Weston-Super Mare from 1970-1983 and helped to save 60 lives.
A class specs:
Hatch
- Length:
- 20ft 6in
- Beam: 7ft 2in
- Speed: 25.75 knots
- Built by: William Osborne Ltd., Littlehampton
McLachlan
- Length:18ft 6in
- Beam: 8ft 3in
- Speed: 22 knots
- Built by: WA Souter, Cowes Shipyard
A 10-out-of-10 restoration
One man who knows the A class inside out – literally – is Steve Evans. Steve is one of a group of volunteers who maintain the boats at watersports charity All-Aboard Watersports, in Bristol. ‘It’s an excuse to enjoy donuts and coffee and moan about our aches and pains,’ says Steve. ‘We’re a group of shed men really – electricians and engineers. We like to fix and restore boats, and once we have, we sell them, and any profit goes back to the charity.’
Steve found a rare A class on eBay and bought it for £3,000. A-510 had helped to save lives at Pill in the Bristol Channel, and then Ramsgate. ‘Most lifeboats are too expensive to maintain, but this was affordable, so we took it on as a project.’
Banana boat
‘It was in a sorry state, so we completely stripped it out,’ Steve recalls. ‘The previous owner had put banana engines in – so called because the air intakes are shaped like a banana. We rebuilt the engines and rewired the electrics. It had been painted blue, so much time was spent rubbing her down and repainting it in the original orange livery.
‘It’s very bulbous at the front – buoyant, with a high bow, so it doesn’t dig in. It cost us over £6,000 to restore, and, 2 years on, we’ve just sold it for £12,000. But we did it for the love of it. The restored A-510 took part in the RNLI’s 200th celebrations in Poole, which was nice. It’s going to a father and son in Ireland who are RNLI crew at Kinsale, so the boat has gone full circle.’
A-510: the little lifeboat that had a big impact
Stations served:
- Pill, 1973-1974 (14 launches, 10 lives saved)
- Ramsgate, 1975-1984 (141 launches, 32 lives saved)
- Falmouth and Humber, 1984-1988 (boarding boat)
C is for ‘Could be confused with a D class’
In the 1970s, the RNLI began looking for a design of inshore lifeboat that was more capable than the D class, which had only been intended for daytime rescues during the summer months. So, in 1972, the C class was born. It was slightly bigger, with twin outboard engines and a searchlight, and could launch night and day. Like the D class, the C class was inflatable, similar in appearance to the D class, and could be righted manually after a capsize.
Two types of C class served from the 1970s until 1999. As the D class evolved, it too was able to launch at night. This, combined with the effectiveness of the B class, meant that C class lifeboats were no longer needed. From the early 1990s, Atlantic 21 B class rigid inflatables began to replace C class inflatables. And by the late 1990s, many C class lifeboats were used as boarding boats.
The boy who brought the lifeboat home safely
14-year-old Ronan was on a mission: to track down the first lifeboat his dad, James Mullen, had helmed at Clifden RNLI in 1996. The C class 522 holds a special spot for James. ‘She was an amazing boat,’ he recalls. ‘She was hard on the back but she never failed to bring us home. This craft was the finest money could buy.
‘I remember a call one winter’s night. The weather was terrible with force 7-8 winds. It was up to us and our trusty C class to get everyone home safe. As the seas got rougher, the C class dug in deeper, and when we were all safely ashore I remember thinking what an incredible boat she was to stand up against those huge waves.’
James’s prized C class was retired in 1997 and little was known about its fate. Thanks to impressive detective work, Ronan learned that it went from Clifden to Ballyglass, and then to a private owner – who turned out to be an RNLI crew member – in Weston-super-Mare. Eventually a deal was struck, and the C class was brought back to Clifden, delighting both the Mullen family and the Clifden crew.
Ronan says: ‘I had been looking online for ages and when I finally came across a photo of the C class I said to Dad, “Is that her?” And he said, “It definitely is.” After that I knew we had to have that boat.’
Footnote:
There were two types of lifeboat categorised as C class vessels:
- C-500 to C-504 were built in the early 1970s and were twin-engined inflatable inshore boats.
- C-505-523 were Zodiac C class inflatables, built from 1978-1990. These were essentially larger and more powerful D class lifeboats.
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