Practical Boat Owner – August 2019

Photos: Nathan Williams/RNLI

PRACTICAL

The Shannon story

Mike Taylor explores the evolution of the RNLI’s latest

all-weather lifeboat and goes behind the scenes at the

charity’s boatbuilding facility at its Poole headquarters

S

ince 1824 the RNLI has been a

pioneer of saving lives at sea,

pushing boat design to new

levels. But with almost 9,000

launches a year, in all conditions and

sea states, the wear and tear on the

boats is extreme.

Keeping spare parts and maintaining

nine different classes of lifeboat, five of

them all-weather boats (ALBs), is no easy

job. A new, future-proof ALB was needed,

and in 2013 the first Shannon-class

lifeboat came into service to meet the

demands of a 21st century rescue system.

The vessel was a success, and is still

being rolled out today, with the aim of

eventually replacing the existing Mersey,

Trent and Tyne class boats. PBO visited

electronics, and continuous evolution of

lifeboat design. For many years this had

been outsourced, but in January 2013, the

RNLI announced a £16.5m investment

programme to build a new lifeboat factory

at its Poole HQ. By bringing the

construction of the Shannon lifeboat

in-house, the charity would save around

£3m per year through build efficiencies

and buying the necessary components

itself. The move was part of the RNLI’s

20-year vision, explains senior engineer

Marsden Butler: “Had we not made this

decision and one of our major suppliers

ceased trading, a lot of experience would

have disappeared. We’d then have

needed to restart that supply chain

experience elsewhere.”

Lifeboats are built and launched at Holes

Bay in Poole, Dorset

the new RNLI boatbuilding facility in Poole

to learn more about this highly

manoeuvrable high-tech vessel.

Central to the RNLI’s operations is the

use of cutting-edge technology, the latest