46ft 9in Watson-class lifeboat

City of Bradford III
Class overview
Name	46ft 9in Watson-class
Builders	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes J Samuel White, Cowes Alexander Robertson & Sons, Sandbank Sussex Yacht Company, Shoreham Camper and Nicholson, Gosport,
Operators	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded by	46ft Watson-class
Succeeded by	47ft Watson-class
Cost	£17,000-£34,000
Built	1947–1956
In service	1947–1989
Completed	28
Lost	1
Retired	27
General characteristics
Class and type	46ft 9in Watson
Displacement	22 tons
Length	46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Beam	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Propulsion	(As built) 2 × 40bhp Ferry VE4 4-cylinder diesel
Speed	8 knots
Crew	8

The 46 ft 9in Watson-class lifeboat was a non self-righting displacement hull lifeboat built between 1947 and 1956 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1947 and 1989.

History

After the final three 46ft Watson-class boats had been completed in 1945/6, production switched to the slightly longer 46 ft 9in type in 1947. The first five boats were very similar in appearance to the final 46 ft types, with aft cockpits, turtle shaped shelters and funnel exhausts. In 1948, however, the deck and superstructure layout was completely redesigned. A new aluminium structure featured an open midships cockpit, with a large cabin aft of the cockpit and a smaller cabin forward which gave access to the engine room.

Description

The wooden hulled 46 ft 9in Watson-class was built in two different variations, with the first five closely resembling the preceding 46 ft type. From 1948 the design was completely revised to provide a midships steering position in an open cockpit. There was a large aft survivor cabin which also housed the radio. At the rear of this cabin was a small aft cockpit with a hatch for stretchers to be passed in and an emergency helm position. A smaller forward cabin gave access to the engine room and contained the engine controls. The boats were powered by the same twin 40 bhp Ferry VE4 installation as the earlier boats, but the exhaust was taken up the foremast to outlets well above the deck. The 46 ft 9in Watsons had long lives and were updated through their careers. The first major modification was the enclosing of the cockpit, done to all boats from 1960 onwards. The wheelhouse fitted resembled that of the 47ft Watson but there was no room to install sliding doors, weather shields being installed instead. Radar was later installed on the wheelhouse roof and the original aerial rigging and the aft mast was removed and replaced by pole aerials. Most, but not all, of the boats were re-engined with various examples of Ford-based 6-cylinder diesel engines as described below. Finally, from the early 1980s all of the midships steering types (except ON 908, lost in the Fraserburgh disaster) were fitted with an air bag on the aft cabin roof to give a once only self-righting capability.

Engines

The 46 ft 9in Watsons were the final boats to be equipped with RNLI designed engines. The 42ft Watson-class, introduced in 1954 was the first type to use commercially available engines, followed by the 47ft Watson-class in 1955 and the 52 ft Barnett-class Mk.II in 1957. These all used the Gardner LW engine in four, five and six cylinder forms respectively. The Gardner engines were too large and heavy for the earlier types and were only ever used in new build boats. However, in the mid 1950s Ford had introduced new 4- and 6-cylinder diesel engines for their Thames light truck and coach chassis. These soon attracted the attention of marine engine companies and many marinized versions were on the market. In 1961 the RNLI re-engined a 46ft Watson, ON 803, with 4-cylinder Ford-based Parsons Marlins and in 1963 a programme of re-engining 41ft Watsons and other boats with Parsons Porbeagles began. This 4-cylinder engine was adopted for the 37 ft Oakley-class from 1964 onwards. The 6-cylinder version was small and light enough to replace the 4-cylinder Ferry VE4 engines and, after a trial installation in ON 803 in 1963, a programme of re-engining some 46ft Watsons began in 1965. This was extended to the 46 ft 9in Watsons and in 1965 two boats (ON 852 and ON 908 ) were re-engined with these 6-cylinder Ford-based Parsons Barracuda diesels. Rated at 65 bhp, these gave a 62½% power increase, making the boats more powerful than the newer 47 ft Watsons, and between 1965 and 1968, seven boats were re-engined with Barracudas. In 1969/70, four boats received another 6-cylinder Ford based unit, the Watermota Sea Lion, rated at 70 bhp. From 1971, seven boats were equipped with 70 bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380s, the last as late as 1982, while in 1972 three boats received 70 bhp Ford Mermaid 595s. A feature of all of these re-engining programmes was the replacement of the foremast exhaust system by outlets on each side of the hull, similar to the 37 ft Oakleys. This allowed a slimmer, lighter foremast to be fitted. The exhaust system on some boats like the Howard Marryat remained unchanged .

Fleet

Aft cockpit type

ON	Name	Built	Builder	In service	Stations	Re-engined	Comments
849	William Gammon - Manchester and District XXX	1947	Groves & Guttridge	1947–1974	The Mumbles	1968 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda 6-cyl diesel	Sold February 1984. In storage for Swansea Museum in December 2022.
				1974–1982	Relief fleet
852	Tynesider	1947	J. Samuel White	1947–1979	Tynemouth	1965 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda 6-cyl diesel	Sold February 1984. Reported in November 2022 to be unaltered but operating as a pleasure boat at Iron Wharf, Faversham.
				1979–1983	Relief fleet
853	Winston Churchill (Civil Service No.8)	1947	J. Samuel White	1948–1979	Blyth	1966 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda 6-cyl diesel	Sold July 1983. Renamed Watson Explorer. Reported in August 2021 as in storage for restoration at Titchmarsh Marina, Walton-on-the-Naze.
				1979–1982	Relief fleet
854	Sarah Tilson	1949	Alexander Robertson & Sons	1950–1978	Baltimore	No	Sold December 1979. In December 2015 it was seen to be unaltered but operating as a pleasure boat a Medway Bridge, Rochester, Kent.
				1978–1979	Relief fleet
855	W.M. Tilson	1949	Alexander Robertson & Sons	1950–1969	Arranmore	No	Sold August 1970. By October 2012 it was semi-derelict at Magerascouse Road, Comber, County Down.

Midship steering cabin type

ON	Name	Built	Builder	In service	Stations	Re-engined	Comments
865	Elizabeth Rippon	1948	J. Samuel White	1948–1975	St Helier	1966 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda	Sold October 1977. Reported in April 2022 to be in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat at Barmouth, Wales.
				1975–1977	Relief fleet
866	Charles Henry Ashley	1949	J. Samuel White	1949–1979	Porthdinllaen	1969 2x70bhp Watermota Sea Lion	Sold March 1987. Reported in December 2022, to be in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat, at The Arsenal in Paris.
				1979–1981	Relief fleet
				1981–1982	Penlee
				1982	Fowey
				1982–1987	Relief fleet
867	Lady Scott (Civil Service No.4)	1949<	J. Samuel White	1949–1981	Portrush	1972 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold July 1987. Renamed Janet Rae. Reported in August 2017 as undergoing survey in Northern Ireland.
				1981–1986	Relief fleet
868	John and Lucy Cordingley	1950	Sussex Yacht Co.	1950–1960	Teesmouth	No	Sold November 1981. Renamed Tempo. Reported in December 2022 to be at Hall Quay in Great Yarmouth.
				1960–1969	Helvick Head
				1969–1981	Relief fleet
885	Sir Samuel Kelly	1950	J. Samuel White	1950–1976	Donaghadee	1972 2x70bhp Ford Mermaid 595	Sold in 1980. By December 2022 it was on display /and undergoing restoration at Donaghadee in Northern Ireland.
				1976–1979	Relief fleet
886	Sarah Townsend Porritt	1951	Sussex Yacht Co.	1951–1978	Lytham St Annes	1971 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold October 1982. Renamed Sarah. Reported in December 2023 to be under restoration at Hayle, Cornwall.
				1978–1981	Relief fleet
887	Sir Godfrey Baring	1951	J. Samuel White	1952–1968	Clacton-on-Sea	1972 2x70bhp Ford Mermaid 595	Sold July 1986. Renamed Sir Baring. In June 2012 it was working as a trip boat, Friedburg, Germany.
				1968–1970	Wick
				1970–1972	Relief fleet
				1972–1982	Workington
				1982–1986	Relief fleet
888	North Foreland (Civil Service No.11)	1951	J. Samuel White	1951–1978	Margate	No	On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard since April 1996.
				1978–1981	Relief fleet
896	Douglas Hyde	1952	Camper and Nicholsons	1952–1969	Rosslare Harbour	1970 2x70bhp Watermota Sea Lion	Sold February 1973. Scrapped at Peel, Isle of Man by 2018.
				1970–1972	Dunmore East
900	Herbert Leigh	1951	J. Samuel White	1951–1982	Barrow	1977 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold in 1989. On display at the Dock Museum, Barrow-in-Furness, since 1994.
				1983–1988	Relief fleet
901	Michael and Lily Davis	1953	J. Samuel White	1953–1976	Ramsgate	No	Sold in 1979. Renamed Coastal Waters. Reported in December 2021 to be pleasure boat at Swansea Marina.
				1976–1979	Relief fleet
908	Duchess of Kent	1954	Groves & Guttridge	1954–1970	Fraserburgh	1965 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda	Capsized on service 21 January 1970, five crew lost. Broken up October 1970.
910	Edian Courtauld	1953	J. Samuel White	1953–1977	Walton and Frinton	1967 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda	Sold August 1981. Reported in August 2021 as pleasure boat Iris B at Fisherman's Quay, Cardiff.
				1977–1981	Relief fleet
911	City of Bradford III	1954	J. Samuel White	1954–1977	Humber	1968 2x65bhp Parsons Barracuda	Sold August 1985. Reported in December 2022 to be in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat in Salcombe, Devon.
				1978–1985	Lytham St Annes
919	Deneys Reitz	1954	Groves & Guttridge	1954–1980	Fowey	1970– 2x70bhp Watermota Sea Lion	Sold September 1980. By August 2018 in Södermanland, Sweden.
921	Greater London II (Civil Service No.30)	1955	Groves & Guttridge	1955–1976	Southend-on-Sea	1969 2x70bhp Watermota Sea Lion	Sold in 1991. Renamed Gallichan.Reported in July 2021 in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat at Portland Marina.
				1977–1989	Beaumaris
925	Henry Comber Brown	1955	J. Samuel White	1955–1986	Tenby	1969 2x70bhp Watermota Sea Lion	Sold in 1987. Reported in December 2021 in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat in Ramsey, Isle of Man.
926	Guy and Clare Hunter	1955	J. Samuel White	1955–1981	St Mary's	1972 2x70bhp Ford Mermaid 595	Sold June 1988. Reported in December 2022 in unaltered condition but working as a pleasure boat at Quinton Nelson Yard, Donaghadee, Northern Ireland.
				1981–1982	Fowey
				1982–1983	Penlee
				1983–1984	Padstow
				1984–1985	Cromer
				1985–1987	Relief fleet
928	Lilla Marras, Douglas and Will	1955	Groves & Guttridge	1955–1968	Cromarty	1978 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold October 1982. Reported in December 2022 in use as B&B on The Noorderhaven, Netherlands.
				1968–1974	Falmouth
				1974–1978	Relief fleet
				1978–1979	Donaghadee
				1979–1982	Relief fleet
929	R.A. Colby Cubbin No.1	1956	J. Samuel White	1956–1988	Douglas	1979 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold in 1989. By November 2017 was being broken up for spares in Bezons, Ile-de-Paris
930	R.A. Colby Cubbin No.2	1956	J. Samuel White	1956–1976	Port St Mary	No	Sold October 1977. Renamed Southport Girl. In December 2022 was reported under restoration as a pleasure boat, under restoration at Port Penrhyn, Wales.
				1976–1977	Relief fleet
931	Richard Vernon and Mary Garforth of Leeds	1956	J. Samuel White	1957–1987	Angle	1980 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold in 1989. Reported in September 2022 in unaltered condition and working as a pleasure boat in Wexford, Ireland.
				1987–1988	Wicklow
932	Howard Marryat	1956	J. Samuel White	1957–1981	Fishguard	1982 2x70bhp Ford Thorneycroft 380	Sold September 1989. Renamed Josef de Waey. By December 2020 it was working (in unaltered condition) as a pleasure boat in Blankenberge, Belgium.
				1982–1986	Barrow
				1986–1988	Moelfre
				1988–1989	Relief fleet

External links

• RNLI