Oakley-class lifeboat

Oakley class

RNLB Manchester Unity of Oddfellows (ON 960)
Class overview
Builders:	William Osborne, Littlehampton J. Samuel White, Cowes Groves and Guttridge, Cowes
Operators:	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded by:	Liverpool/Watson
Succeeded by:	Rother/Solent
Cost:	37ft: £27,000-£38,000 48ft 6in: £40,000-£72,000
Built:	1958–1971
In service:	1958–1993
Completed:	37ft: 26 48ft 6in: 5
Retired:	31
Preserved:	10
General characteristics 37ft
Displacement:	12 long tons (12 t)
Length:	37 ft (11 m)
Beam:	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Draught:	3 ft 4 in (1.02 m)
Propulsion:	2 × 43hp Perkins P4M/52hp Ford Thorneycroft/Parsons Porbeagle
Speed:	8 knots (9.2 mph)
Complement:	7
General characteristics 48ft 6in
Displacement:
Length:	48 ft 6 in (14.78 m)
Beam:	14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
Draught:	4 ft 4 in (1.32 m)
Propulsion:	2 × 110bhp Gardner 6LX
Speed:	8 knots (9.2 mph)
Complement:	8

The Oakley-class lifeboat refers to two types of self-righting lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1958 and 1993. The 37ft Oakley was designed for carriage launching, while the larger 48ft 6in version was designed for slipway launching or to lie afloat. During their service they saved a combined total of 1,456 lives in 3,734 rescue launches.

The class is known by the name of its designer, RNLI naval architect Richard A. Oakley.

History

During the first half of the twentieth century the RNLI had equipped its lifeboat stations with motor lifeboats designed by G L Watson and, later, J R Barnett. Both these men had designed boats that were generally stable, but unlike the earlier Peake-class boats, were not self-righting. Part of the problem was that motor lifeboats were much heavier than pulling and sailing boats which could be packed with cork to make them buoyant. Richard Oakley worked out how to use shifting water ballast to create a self-righting motor lifeboat.

Oakley's 37 feet (11 m) prototype was launched in 1958 and placed in service at Scarborough. Production boats started to be built in 1961 and in 1963 the prototype 48 feet 6 inches (14.78 m) boat was launched and sent to Yarmouth. The last Barnett-class was built in 1960 and the final Watson-class in 1963, after which Oakleys were the only all-weather lifeboats put into service for the next four years.

Design

The Oakley was designed as a self-righting boat. The design combined great stability with the ability to self-right in the event of it capsizing. This was achieved by a system of shifting water ballast. The system worked by the lifeboat taking on one and half tons of sea water at launching in to a tank built into the base of the hull. If the lifeboat then reached a crucial point of capsize the ballast water would transfer through valves to a righting tank built into the port side. If the capsize was to the starboard side of the lifeboat, the water shift started when an angle of 165° was reached. This would push the boat into completing a full 360° roll. If the capsize was to the port side, the water transfer started at 110°. In this case the weight of water combined with the weight of machinery aboard the lifeboat usually managed to stop the roll and allow the lifeboat to bounce back to upright. The water was discharged from the tank when the ship was taken out of the sea after each launch. A problem emerged with damp sand left in the tank after the water was drained. This caused a weak electrolytic action that eroded the copper nails which held the wooden hulls together.

The hull of the Oakley class was constructed from two wooden skins with a layer of calico between. After several years it was found that the calico absorbed water which caused softening of the wood around the copper nails. This led to a series of surveys in the late 1980s and the withdrawal of some boats, or replanking of others. The skins were made from diagonally laid African Mahogany planks. The outer one was 0.375 inches (9.5 mm) thick with the inner 0.25 inches (6.4 mm). The keel was iron and weighed 1.154 tons. The hull was divided into eleven watertight compartments. Two sizes were built. Most boats were 37 feet (11 m) in length and 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) in beam. It displaced 12.05 tons when fully laden with crew and gear. Five larger boats were built that were 48 feet 6 inches (14.78 m) long and 14 feet (4.3 m) wide.

The 48ft 6in Oakley

48-12 Charles Henry in private use (Exeter, 2007)

After five years production of the 37ft boat, the RNLI decided to extend the water ballast self-righting principal to a larger boat suitable for slipway launching and lying afloat. In 1962 a prototype boat was built, 48-01 Earl and Countess Howe (ON 968) and in appearance it resembled an extended 42ft Watson-class with a long tapering superstructure running forward from an aft cockpit which was covered, but open to the stern. The boat's water ballast system used 2​³⁄₄ tons of water compared to 1​¹⁄₂ tons in the smaller boats. Power came from two 110 bhp Gardner 6LX six cylinder diesel engines, the redesigned and uprated version of the engine fitted to the last ten 52ft Barnett class boats. Displacing 29 tons and built at a cost of £40,000, RNLB The Earl and Countess Howe (ON 968) was the first RNLI lifeboat to be built with radar installed and went on station at Yarmouth in February 1963. It was four years before further examples were built, by which time a major redesign of the superstructure had resulted in the Mk. II version. In this an enclosed wheelhouse was positioned amidships, accessed by sliding doors on either side at the forward end. Behind the wheelhouse was an aft cabin which could accommodate a loaded stretcher. Initially, radio aerials were rigged between the foremast and a bipod mast at the back of the aft cabin, on the roof of which the radar scanner was mounted on a pylon. Later, the masts were removed and twin pole aerials fitted to the aft cabin just behind the wheelhouse with a small tripod mast fitted to the wheelhouse roof. RNLB Ruby and Arthur Reed (ON 990) went on station at Cromer in March 1967, followed by RNLB James and Catherine Macfarlane (ON 989) which took up duties at Padstow in July 1967.

Attention now turned to a steel hulled development of the 48ft 6in Oakley which would dispense with the complex water ballast system and achieve its self-righting capability from a watertight superstructure. This emerged as the Solent class and initial orders for eight boats were placed with Operational Numbers following on from the Oakleys (48-004 to 48-011, the three digit second part of the number indicating a metal hull). Two final Oakleys were then ordered, taking Operational Numbers 48-12 and 48-13. The first of these, 48-12 Charles Henry (ON 1015) went on station at Selsey in January 1969, a few months before the first Solent. 48-13 Princess Marina (ON 1016) began service at Wick in July 1970.

Like the smaller boats, the 48ft 6in Oakleys were prone to hull deterioration through electrolysis and were not considered for sale for further use. Initially, all five boats were put on display at various locations, but two, 48-01 and 48-13 were subsequently broken up. After ten years on display, 48-12 was sold to a private owner who removed the water ballast system and put the boat back on the water, leaving 48-02 and 48-03 on public display at Lands End and Hythe Marina respectively.

Fleet

37 foot boats

ON	Op. No.	Name	Built	Builder	In service	Principal stations	Further use
942	37-01	J.G. Graves of Sheffield	1958	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1958–1978 1979–1988 1988–1991 1992–1993	Scarborough Relief fleet Clogher Head Newcastle	Preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard
960	37-02	Manchester Unity of Oddfellows	1961	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1961–1990	Sheringham	Sold April 1991. Preserved at Sheringham
961	37-03	Calouste Gulbenkian	1961	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1962–1969 1970–1990 1990–1991	Weston Super Mare Relief fleet New Quay	Sold November 1991. Under restoration at Donaghadee
966	37-04	Robert and Dorothy Hardcastle	1962	Groves and Guttridge, Cowes	1962–1968 1968–1991 1991–1993	Boulmer Filey Relief fleet	Sold April 1993. Preserved at Hartlepool
972	37-05	The Will and Fanny Kirby	1963	William Osborne, Littlehamton	1963–1979 1979–1983 1983–1993	Seaham Relief fleet Flamborough	Preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard
973	37-06	Fairlight	1964	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1964–1988 1988–1989 1989–1990 1991–1992	Hastings Relief fleet St Ives New Quay	Sold October 1994. Pleasure boat at Blakeney Harbour
974	37-07	Jane Hay	1964	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1964–1974 1974–1980 1980–1992	St Abbs Relief fleet Newcastle	Broken up at Arklow 1995
975	37-08	Sir James Knott	1963	Groves and Guttridge, Cowes	1963–1969 1969–1972 1972–1985 1985–1990	Cullercoats Relief fleet Redcar Relief fleet	Sold 1990. Preserved at Redcar
976	37-09	Lilly Wainwright	1964	Groves and Guttridge, Cowes	1964–1990 1990–1992	Llandudno Kilmore Quay	Sold September 1993. Pleasure boat at Cobh
977	37-10	Charles Fred Grantham	1964	Groves and Guttridge, Cowes	1964–1990 1990–1991 1991–1992	Skegness Scarborough Relief fleet	Broken up 1993
978	37-11	The Royal Thames	1964	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1964–1969 1970–1978 1979–1991 1991–1993	Caister Runswick Pwllheli Clogher Head	Sold 1994
979	37-12	James and Catherine Macfarlane (1964-1967) Amelia (1967-1991)	1964	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1964–1978 1978–1991	Relief fleet Scarborough	Sold February 1992. Preserved at Charlestown
980	37-13	William Henry and Mary King	1964	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1964–1967 1967–1988 1989–1990	Cromer No.2 Bridlington North Sunderland	Children's playground, Highbury, London
981	37-14	Mary Pullman	1964	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1965–1989	Kirkcudbright	Hull on display at Spalding
982	37-15	Ernest Tom Nethercoat	1965	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1965–1990 1990–1991	Wells North Sunderland	Under restoration
983	37-16	The Doctors	1965	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1965–1991 1991–1993	Anstruther Relief fleet	Sold 1993. Under restoration at Donaghadee
984	37-17	Mary Joicey	1966	Herd and McKenzie, Buckie	1966–1981 1981–1989	Newbiggin Relief fleet	Under restoration for display at Newbiggin
985	37-18	Valentine Wyndham-Quin	1967	Herd and McKenzie, Buckie	1968–1984 1984–1988	Clacton-on-Sea Clogher Head	Preserved at Harwich
986	37-19	Lloyds II	1966	Morris and Lorimer, Sandbanks	1966–1990 1990–1992	Ilfracombe Sheringham	Broken up 1993
991	37-20	Edward and Mary Lester	1967	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1967–1989	North Sunderland	Broken up 1989
992	37-21	Frank Penfold Marshall	1968	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1968–1989	St Ives	Broken up 1989
993	37-22	Har Lil	1968	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1968–1990	Rhyl	Sold December 1991. Under restoration at South Ferriby
994	37-23	The Vincent Nesfield	1969	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1969–1972 1972–1973 1973–1989 1989–1991 1991–1993	Relief fleet Port Erin Relief fleet Kilmore Quay Relief fleet	Broken up by 1995
995	37-24	James Ball Ritchie	1970	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1970–1991	Ramsey	Broken up 1992
996	37-25	Birds Eye	1970	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1970–1990	New Quay	Preserved at Moelfre
997	37-26	Lady Murphy	1971	William Osborne, Littlehampton	1972–1988	Kilmore Quay	Broken up 1995

48 foot 6 inch boats

All built by William Osborne, Littlehampton except ON 989, Berthon Boat Co., Lymington

ON	Op. No.	Name	Built	In service	Principal stations	Further use
968	48-01	The Earl and Countess Howe	1963	1963–1977 1977–1984	Yarmouth Walton and Frinton	Displayed at RNLI Depot, Poole 1984-2004. Broken up 2004
989	48-02	James and Catherine Macfarlane	1967	1967–1983 1983–1987	Padstow The Lizard	On display at Land's End
990	48-03	Ruby and Arthur Reed	1966	1967–1984 1985–1988	Cromer St Davids	On display at Hythe
1015	48-12	Charles Henry	1968	1969–1984 1984–1987	Selsey Baltimore	Displayed at Merry Hill, Dudley 1989-1999. Pleasure boat at Exeter
1016	48-13	Princess Marina	1970	1970–1988	Wick	Displayed at National Lifeboat Museum, Pitsea. Broken up 2003

External links

• RNLI