41ft Watson-class lifeboat
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.
 RNLB Edmund and Mary Robison (ON812), 6th of 13 in the Watson 41 Class. On the occasion of her Naming Ceremony off Princes Dock, Liverpool | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 41ft Watson-class |
| Builders: |
|
| Operators: |
 |
| Preceded by: | Various |
| Succeeded by: | 42ft Watson |
| Cost: | £5,600-£20,700 |
| Built: | 1931-1939, 1948-1952 |
| In service: | 1931-1982 |
| Completed: | 18 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| Retired: | 15 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 41ft Watson-class motor lifeboat |
| Displacement: | 14-15 tons |
| Length: | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Beam: | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) - 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) |
| Draught: | 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) |
| Propulsion: | (As built) 2x35bhp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol |
| Speed: | 71⁄2 knots |
| Crew: | 8 |
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. There was also a beach type with 7 inches more beam and strengthened hulls to withstand the rigours of beach launching. Production ran from 1931 to 1939 and thirteen boats were completed. Between 1948 and 1952 a further five 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 Beach types, as well as being wider, had various differences in deck layout, the first three (ON 751, 761/2) having end boxes and the fourth (ON 783) having raised bulwarks. 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 eleven of the boats were re-engined with 47 bhp Ford-based Parsons Porbeagle 4-cylinder diesel engines.
Fleet
ON is the RNLIs sequential Official Number.
| ON | Name | Built | Builder | In service | Stations | Re-engined | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 751 | Abdy Beauclerk | 1931 | J. Samuel White, Cowes | 1931–1958 | Aldeburgh No.1 | -- | Beach type. Sold in 1959 |
| 758 | Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1963 1963–1973 |
Shoreham Harbour Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1973 |
| 761 | Charles Cooper Henderson | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1957 1957–1974 |
Dungeness Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Beach type. Sold January 1976 |
| 762 | Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.2) | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1933–1959 | Walmer | -- | Beach type. Sold in 1961 |
| 769 | Duke of York | 1933 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1934–1961 | The Lizard | -- | Sold in 1961. Under threat of being broken up. Wexford, Ireland. |
| 783 | The Viscountess Wakefield | 1936 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1936–1940 | Hythe | -- | Beach type. Abandoned at Dunkirk 31/5/1940 |
| 806 | Rachel and Mary Evans | 1936 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1937–1968 1968–1969 |
Barry Dock Relief fleet |
-- | Wrecked 12/4/1969 after breaking moorings on
reserve duty at Weston-Super-Mare. |
| 807 | Inbhear Mor | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1968 1968–1973 |
Arklow Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1974 |
| 808 | Mary Ann Hepworth | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1974 | Whitby | 1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1975. Purchased 1988 and fully restored in Whitby. Preserved as pleasure boat and currently for sale. http://www.oldlifeboatwhitby.co.uk. |
| 812 | Edmund and Mary Robinson | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1938–1950 1950–1964 |
New Brighton No.2 Relief fleet |
-- | Sold March 1964. Broken Up 2017 at Bromsgrove. |
| 813 | Ann Letitia Russell | 1938 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1976 | Fleetwood | 1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold April 1977. Returned to Fleetwood in August 2015 for restoration and display. http://www.ann-letitia-russell-rescue-group.org.uk |
| 823 | Matthew Simpson | 1939 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1972 1972–1976 |
Port Erin Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1976 |
| 824 | John Pyremont | 1939 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1939–1941 | Tynemouth | -- | Destroyed in air raid 9/4/1941 |
| 856 | Susan Ashley | 1948 | Groves & Guttridge, Cowes | 1948–1972 1973–1979 |
Sennen Cove Barry Dock No.2 |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Boarding boat at Tynemouth 1979-80.
Display at Chatham Historic Dockyard |
| 857 | Glencoe, Glasgow | 1949 | Morgan Giles, Teignmouth | 1949–1960 1960–1965 1965–1978 |
Buckie Relief fleet Cloughey-Portavogie |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1979 |
| 858 | R.L.P. | 1949 | Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham | 1949–1975 1975–1981 |
Swanage Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold August 1981 |
| 859 | Beryl Tollemanche | 1949 | Sussex Yacht Co., Shoreham | 1949–1977 1977–1979 |
Eastbourne Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Beach type. Sold September 1979 |
| 897 | St. Andrew (Civil Service No.10) | 1952 | William Osborne, Littlehampton | 1952–1959 1959–1961 1961–1968 1968–1973 1973–1982 |
Whitehills Relief fleet Girvan Arklow Relief fleet |
1963-Parsons Porbeagle | Sold in 1982 |