The New Shannon Lifeboat

[Ribochet]

Just for information this is a video of the new RNLI Shannon Class all weather lifeboat which is intended to replace the Mersey Class Lifeboat.

It follows in a 45-year tradition of naming all weather lifeboats after rivers or stretches of water, but it will be the first time that the name of an Irish river has been used – about time too .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEYld...layer_embedded

It uses twin water jets instead of conventional propellers and has a top speed of 25 knots.

Note the stopping distance during an emergency stop

[m chappelow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpEp-bysAY

Took long enough to get it to the production stage ,

Not the first time an RNLI lifeboat has been powered by water jets ,they had some steam powered water jets boats in the later part of the 1800s ,
suppose they dident have Scania engines in those days ,lol

[jezza2011]

nice boat

[Festinghouse]

never seen them beach a mersey class like that - a bit faster and i reckon they could sell the winch off the tractor!

[moonshadow]

Thanks for sharing.............@Ribochet I guess the stopping distance means an upgrade of the head protection WOW just WOW!!

[Leapy]

What's the reasoning behind the beach test?

[Festinghouse]

probably to give the crew the option of landing higher up the beach to be clear of heavy breaking waves

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by Leapy

What's the reasoning behind the beach test?

Emergency beaching,
Main reason if the lifeboat has a seriously ill casualty on board and it's a long trip back to a harbour the ambulance can then rondevou with the lifeboat on the nearest beach also the station maybe a beach launch only another reason why the Atlantic ribs has a flat on the hull or planning pad as some call them so the boat stays upright,

One advantage with the Shannon is that the lifeboat can be recovered with just 2 shore crew (tractor driver and a banks man )unlike the Mersey class that needs a small army with skids much labour intensive.

[HUMBER P4VWL]

How the chuff will they move it now? Looks above the high tide mark. Crane?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

How the chuff will they move it now? Looks above the high tide mark. Crane?

Just winch it onto the trailer, simples

[TonyC]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

How the chuff will they move it now? Looks above the high tide mark. Crane?

Like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiqyxa7NYpE

[m chappelow]

As you can see in Tonyc,s clip , by comparison compared to the new shannon the old recovery system was very labour intensive and took a long time to compleate .also the new tractor has the same engine as the boat so compatable spare parts can be kept to a minimum at station or div base.

also the tractor/launcher can be batterend down and is waterproof to 7 metres of water depth/pressure if needed or should it breakdown in deep water .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1cw0...eature=related

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Originally Posted by TonyC

Like this...

Fair enough! I'll take two!

[jezza2011]

I was just going to say "but the boat is on the trailer the wrong way round" then say the trailer turn the boat round... I want one :-)

[captnjack]

Nice looking boat, although the collar/tube seems almost unnecessary. Those trailer crawler things seem like a maintenance nightmare.

But I have to ask, don't you have helicopters?? My nephew is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer: History of Rescue Swimmers

He's at air station Kodiak (Alaska). Pulling people out of the water, off liferafts and off ships using the HH65-Dolphin helicopter: MH-60J/T : Platforms : CG-711

[Poly]

Jack, the collar is just there for fendering I believe, which makes sense for a boat which has to come along side both big and small boats in rough seas.

We do have hellos but they have limitations like not being able to tow a boat! They also tend to be deployed when there is a known immediate threat to life. Whereas the lifeboat get used for all sorts from injuries, breakdowns etc through to sinking and searches. It's sometimes quicker to get a lifeboat than a helo, and the lifeboat may operate in weather conditions where a helo can struggle. Your coasties use similar boats don't they?

Oh, but we don't have rescue swimmers. It's usually considered a cock up if the winchman 'gets wet'

[HughN]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Jack, the collar is just there for fendering I believe, which makes sense for a boat which has to come along side both big and small boats in rough seas.

We do have hellos but they have limitations like not being able to tow a boat! They also tend to be deployed when there is a known immediate threat to life. Whereas the lifeboat get used for all sorts from injuries, breakdowns etc through to sinking and searches. It's sometimes quicker to get a lifeboat than a helo, and the lifeboat may operate in weather conditions where a helo can struggle. Your coasties use similar boats don't they?

Oh, but we don't have rescue swimmers. It's usually considered a cock up if the winchman 'gets wet'

The helos are government-funded rescue assets; the RNLI is a charity and the crew are volunteers.

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by HughN

The helos are government-funded rescue assets; the RNLI is a charity and the crew are volunteers.

I know. We don't have volunteer rescuers at sea over here. We have various volunteer organizations who look for lost hunters, hikers and such. But nothing at sea. For non-life threatening breakdowns, out-of-gas, groundings etc those are all handled by commercial towing/salvage companies.

Our Coasties have 2 different boats in common use. The surfboats which look alot like the lifeboat posted here. Those are the ones you've probably seen movies of rolling over in the surf at the Columbia bar. They are very expensive to operate apparently and somewhat slow, although faster than 25knots. Video – Coast Guard 47 Foot Motor Lifeboat Compilation | Coast Guard News

Is the Shannon lifeboat self righting? Any images of the inside? What kind of power is she using? How are the engines starting in the dry - presumably she's keel cooled to allow some coolant to be circulating in the engine before she's fully immersed? How are those jets getting enough water to power off the trailer?


Btw
The other more common type is a fast response "RIB" which uses a hard foam collar. But they very frequently deploy their helicopter assets around here, even if there's a boat nearby. They can transport medical emergencies directly to a trauma hospital if need be without screwing around offloading them from a boat to an ambulance etc. Since they are operating in near hurricane conditions here, I think you just need tougher helos Apparently you do have rescue swimmers in the Royal Navy though. Presumably for getting downed airmen out of the ocean.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by captnjack

Is the Shannon lifeboat self righting?

Yes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WxLTKk3Deg

The other more common type is a fast response "RIB" which uses a hard foam collar. But they very frequently deploy their helicopter assets around here, even if there's a boat nearby. They can transport medical emergencies directly to a trauma hospital if need be without screwing around offloading them from a boat to an ambulance etc.

its not uncommon to deploy loads of assets here! that has the advantage that the lifeboats are generally better platforms for winching from than typical yachts etc - and the skippers somewhat better and maintaining constant speed and course.

Since they are operating in near hurricane conditions here, I think you just need tougher helos Apparently you do have rescue swimmers in the Royal Navy though. Presumably for getting downed airmen out of the ocean.

I'm no expert on when they do and don't fly but I think its icing/snow that is their limit rather than wind. The capability is offered by a mix of Coastguard (actually sub contracted to a private operator), Royal Navy and Royal Airforce aircraft. I believe all of them would usually aim to recover a casualty from the water without the winchman disconnecting from the aircraft, and as far as I know "we" never do the "jumping in the water thing"...

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I believe all of them would usually aim to recover a casualty from the water without the winchman disconnecting from the aircraft, and as far as I know "we" never do the "jumping in the water thing"...

The swimmer loads them in the rescue litter one at a time. The whole reason they deploy into the water is because the victim is probably hypothermic and can't get in themselves. If you read the "history" link I posted towards the beginning there's 1980s a case study of the loss of numerous lives because they couldn't get into the litter. That vessel was far offshore in horrible conditions for another boat to pick up survivors.

Does the Shannon lifeboat always launch from the beach? If so why not just build a launch ramp vs maintain the hydraulics and tracks etc of that trolly? I'm just guessing the tractor doesn't drive very far or very fast.

Its a cool design but seems like a maintenance nightmare.

Oh and that old launch-retrieve system seems like it would be horrible with any kind of surf. Hard to tell since the videos are obviously sunny and calm