Surf-class lifeboat

Class overview
Name:	Surf-class
Builders:	J. Samuel White, Cowes Groves & Guttridge, Cowes Alexander Robertson and Sons, Sandbank
Operators:	RNLI
Cost:	£3,000-£3,800
Built:	1935–1941
In service:	1936–1965
Completed:	9
Retired:	9
General characteristics
Displacement:	4-5 tons
Length:	32 ft (9.8 m)
Beam:	9 ft (2.7 m)-9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Propulsion:	2 x 12 bhp Weyburn F2 2-cyl. petrol
Speed:
Range:	~40 nautical miles (74 km)

The Surf-class was a light non self-righting displacement hull motor lifeboat built between 1935 and 1940 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1936 and 1965.

History

Designed by RNLI Naval Architect James Barnett, the Surf-class was the smallest and lightest offshore motor lifeboat produced by the Institution. Intended for stations where launching heavier boats would be difficult, the Surf-class enabled the RNLI to replace pulling and sailing lifeboats and plug gaps in motor lifeboat cover. The boats however, were only really suitable for inshore work in moderate conditions and they only had long service lives at two stations.

Description

The first two boats were completely open with no shelter, not considered to be a problem for the kind of services that they were intended for. The boats were powered by two 2-cylinder Weyburn F2 horizontal petrol engines and whereas the first boat had twin screws, the second was propelled by Hotchkiss cones, a kind of water impeller. While this was a benefit in shallow waters, the cone powered boat was around 1 knot slower than the screw version.

The first two boats served for less than ten years before being sold off. The second batch appeared in 1938 and had 3 inches more beam and were fitted with a shelter ahead of the (tiller) steering position. All but one featured Hotchkiss cone propulsion, RNLB Kate Greatorex (ON 816) was fitted with Gill water jets. These boats served for 10 to 12 years at most of their stations before being replaced by standard carriage launched boats, but at two locations, Poole and Newburgh, Surf-class boats continued into the sixties. RNLB John Ryburn (ON 837) was withdrawn from service at Newburgh at the end of September 1965 after more than twenty four years on station during which it launched on service only eleven times. With its withdrawal, the Newburgh station was closed.

Fleet

ON	Name	Built	Builder	In service	Principal Station	Comments
779	Rosabella	1935	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1936–1945	Ilfracombe	Sold to Dutch lifeboat service June 1946
780	Royal Silver Jubilee 1910-1935	1935	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes	1936–1945	Wells	Sold to Dutch lifeboat service June 1946
810	Augustus and Laura	1938	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes	1938–1950	Newbiggin	Sold October 1950
811	Thomas Kirk Wright	1938	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes	1939–1962	Poole	Sold 1963. On display in the Old Lifeboat House at Poole.
816	Kate Greatorex	1939	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes	1939–1951	Minehead	Sold March 1952
817	Laurence Arden, Stockport	1939	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes	1939–1949 1949–1951	Barmouth Relief fleet	Sold December 1951
835	The Gordon Warren	1939	J. Samuel White, Cowes	1939–1949 1949–1951	Rhyl Relief fleet	Sold January 1952
836	Norman Nasmyth	1940	Alexander Robertson, Sandbank	1940–1950 1950–1965	Montrose No.2 Relief fleet	Sold in 1966
837	John Ryburn	1941	Alexander Robertson, Sandbank	1941–1965	Newburgh	Capsized on service 26/1/1942, two crew lost. Sold in 1966

External links

• RNLI