RNLB Edmund and Mary Robison (ON812), 6th of 13 in the Watson 41 Class. Off Princes Dock, Liverpool, on the occasion of her naming ceremony.
Class overview
Name41ft Watson-class
Builders
Operators Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded byVarious
Succeeded by42ft Watson
Cost£5,600-£20,700
Built1933-1939, 1948-1952
In service1933-1982
Completed13
Lost2
Retired11
General characteristics
Class and type41ft Watson-class motor lifeboat
Displacement14-15 tons
Length41 ft (12 m)
Beam11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) - 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Draught3 ft 8 in (1.12 m)
Propulsion(As built) 2x35bhp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol
Speed71⁄2 knots
Crew8

The 41 ft Watson-class was a non self-righting displacement hull lifeboat built between 1931 and 1952 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1931 and 1981.

History

The 41 ft Watson was designed for service at stations which required a larger and more powerful boat than the standard carriage launched types, but which could not accommodate the larger Watson types through boathouse or slipway constraints. This is not to be confused with the earlier 41ft 'Aldeburgh' Beach Motor lifeboat, which was developed from the Norfolk and Suffolk type boat. Production ran from 1933 to 1939 and thirteen boats were completed. Between 1948 and 1952 a further four boats were built before attention turned to the much modified 42ft Watson type which appeared in 1954.

Description

The 41 ft Watson had an aft cockpit with a cabin ahead of it containing the engine controls. There was a separate forward shelter and there was room in the two for sixteen people. The boats carried two sails as an auxiliary to the twin Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines. The type was put back into production in 1948, nine years after the last had been built, in a revised version with an enlarged cabin which replaced the forward shelter. From 1963 eight of the boats were re-engined with 47 bhp Ford-based Parsons Porbeagle 4-cylinder diesel engines.


Fleet

ON[lower-alpha 1] Name Built Builder In service Stations Re-engined Comments[1]
758 Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn 1933 Groves & Guttridge 1933–1963 Shoreham Harbour 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1973. Renamed Dowager. In October 2019 it was reported to be at Allington Lock in Maidstone.
1963–1973 Relief fleet
769 Duke of York 1933 Groves & Guttridge 1934–1961 The Lizard No Sold in 1961. Reported in September 2021 at Castlebridge, Ireland.
806 Rachel and Mary Evans 1936 Groves & Guttridge 1937–1968 Barry Dock No Wrecked 12 April 1969 after breaking moorings at Weston-Super-Mare.
1969 Weston-super-Mare
807 Inbhear Mor 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1968 Arklow 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1974. December 2013 reported as broken up at Ynyslas Boatyard in Borth.
1968–1973 Relief fleet
808 Mary Ann Hepworth 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1974 Whitby 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1975. Purchased 1988, was fully restored as a trip boat in Whitby but by October 2022 was at Port Penrhyn.
812 Edmund and Mary Robinson 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1938–1950 New Brighton No.2 No Sold March 1964. In February 2016 it was reported broken up near Bromsgrove.
1950–1964 Relief fleet
813 Ann Letitia Russell 1938 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1976 Fleetwood 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold April 1977. Under restoration from August 2015 at ABP Marine yard, Fleetwood Dock, and still there in December 2022.[2][3]
823 Matthew Simpson 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1972 Port Erin 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1976. Renamed Penros. In May 2022 it was reported to be unaltered but used as a pleasure boat by the Hayling Island Yacht Company.
1972–1976 Relief fleet
824 John Pyremont 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1941 Tynemouth No Destroyed in air raid 9 April 1941.
856 Susan Ashley 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1948–1972 Sennen Cove 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Used as an RNLI boarding boat at Tynemouth 1979-1981. On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard from April 1996.
1973–1979 Barry Dock No.2
857 Glencoe-Glasgow 1949 Morgan Giles 1949–1960 Buckie 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1979. Renamed Vagrant. In September 2019 it was reported being used as a pleasure boat at Burghead Harbour.
1960–1961 Girvan
1961–1965 Relief fleet
1965–1978 Portavogie
858 R.L.P. 1949 Sussex Yacht Co. 1949–1975 Swanage 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold August 1981. Renamed Beya. Was a workboat at Millport, Great Cumbrae in June 1989, now believed to have been given to a Sea Cadet group.
1975–1981 Relief fleet
897 St. Andrew
(Civil Service No.10)		 1952 William Osborne 1952–1959 Whitehills 1963 Parsons Porbeagle Sold in 1982. By April 2022 it had been restored as pleasure boat based at New Ross Boatyard, County Wexford.
1959–1961 Relief fleet
1961–1968 Girvan
1968–1973 Arklow
1973–1976 Relief fleet
1976–1977 Girvan
1977–1982 Relief fleet
  1. ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

References

  1. ↑ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  2. ↑ "Ann Letitia Russell". National Historic Ships.
  3. ↑ "Ann Letitia Russell Lifeboat". Visit Fleetwood. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
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