Oakley class
RNLB Manchester Unity of Oddfellows (ON 960)
Class overview
Builders
  • William Osborne, Littlehampton
  • J. Samuel White, Cowes
  • Groves and Guttridge, Cowes
  • Herd and McKenzie, Buckie
  • Morris and Lorimer, Sandbanks
OperatorsRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded byLiverpool/Watson
Succeeded byRother/Solent
Cost
  • 37ft: £27,000-£38,000
  • 48ft 6in: £40,000-£72,000
Built1958–1971
In service1958–1993
Completed
  • 37ft: 26
  • 48ft 6in: 5
Retired31
Preserved10
General characteristics 37ft
Displacement12 long tons (12 t)
Length37 ft (11.28 m)
Beam11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Draught3 ft 4 in (1.02 m)
Propulsion2 × 43hp Perkins P4M/52hp Ford Thorneycroft/Parsons Porbeagle
Speed8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h)
Complement7
General characteristics 48ft 6in
Displacement30 long tons (30 t)
Length48 ft 6 in (14.78 m)
Beam14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
Draught4 ft 4 in (1.32 m)
Propulsion2 × 110bhp Gardner 6LX
Speed8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h)
Complement8

The Oakley-class lifeboat refers to two types of self-righting lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1958 and 1993. The 37-foot (11.3 m) Oakley was designed for carriage launching, while the larger 48-foot-6-inch (14.8 m) version was designed for slipway launching or to lie afloat. During their service they saved a combined total of 1,456 lives in 3,734 rescue launches.

The class is known by the name of its designer, RNLI naval architect Richard Oakley.

History

During the first half of the twentieth century the RNLI had equipped its lifeboat stations with motor lifeboats designed by G L Watson and, later, J R Barnett. Both these men had designed boats that were generally stable, but unlike the earlier Peake-class boats, were not self-righting. Part of the problem was that motor lifeboats were much heavier than pulling and sailing boats, which could be packed with cork to make them buoyant. Richard Oakley worked out how to use shifting water ballast to create a self-righting motor lifeboat.[1][2]

Oakley's 37-foot (11 m) prototype was launched in 1958 and placed in service at Scarborough. Production boats started to be built in 1961 and in 1963 the prototype 48-foot-6-inch (14.78 m) boat was launched and sent to Yarmouth. The last Barnett-class was built in 1960 and the final Watson-class in 1963, after which Oakleys were the only all-weather lifeboats put into service for the next four years.[3]

Design

The Oakley was designed as a self-righting boat. The design combined great stability with the ability to self-right in the event of it capsizing. This was achieved by a system of shifting water ballast. The system worked by the lifeboat taking on one and half tons of sea water at launching in to a tank built into the base of the hull. If the lifeboat then reached a crucial point of capsize the ballast water would transfer through valves to a righting tank built into the port side. If the capsize was to the starboard side of the lifeboat, the water shift started when an angle of 165° was reached. This would push the boat into completing a full 360° roll. If the capsize was to the port side, the water transfer started at 110°. In this case the weight of water combined with the weight of machinery aboard the lifeboat usually managed to stop the roll and allow the lifeboat to bounce back to upright. The water was discharged from the tank when the ship was taken out of the sea after each launch. A problem emerged with damp sand left in the tank after the water was drained. This caused a weak electrolytic action that eroded the copper nails which held the wooden hulls together.[4]

The hull of the Oakley class was constructed from two wooden skins with a layer of calico between. After several years it was found that the calico absorbed water which caused softening of the wood around the copper nails. This led to a series of surveys in the late 1980s and the withdrawal of some boats, or replanking of others.[4] The skins were made from diagonally laid African Mahogany planks. The outer one was 0.375 inches (9.5 mm) thick with the inner 0.25 inches (6.4 mm). The keel was iron and weighed 1.154 tons. The hull was divided into eleven watertight compartments. Two sizes were built. Most boats were 37 feet (11.3 m) in length and 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) in beam. It displaced 12.05 tons when fully laden with crew and gear. Five larger boats were built that were 48 feet 6 inches (14.78 m) long and 14 feet (4.3 m) wide.

The 48ft 6in Oakley

48-12 Charles Henry in private use (Exeter, 2007)

After five years production of the 37ft boat, the RNLI decided to extend the water ballast self-righting principal to a larger boat suitable for slipway launching and lying afloat. In 1962 a prototype boat was built, 48-01 Earl and Countess Howe (ON 968) and in appearance it resembled an extended 42ft Watson-class with a long tapering superstructure running forward from an aft cockpit which was covered, but open to the stern. The boat's water ballast system used 23⁄4 tons of water compared to 11⁄2 tons in the smaller boats. Power came from two 110 bhp Gardner 6LX six cylinder diesel engines, the redesigned and uprated version of the engine fitted to the last ten 52ft Barnett class boats. Displacing 29 tons and built at a cost of £40,000, RNLB The Earl and Countess Howe (ON 968) was the first RNLI lifeboat to be built with radar installed and went on station at Yarmouth in February 1963. It was four years before further examples were built, by which time a major redesign of the superstructure had resulted in the Mk. II version. In this an enclosed wheelhouse was positioned amidships, accessed by sliding doors on either side at the forward end. Behind the wheelhouse was an aft cabin which could accommodate a loaded stretcher. Initially, radio aerials were rigged between the foremast and a bipod mast at the back of the aft cabin, on the roof of which the radar scanner was mounted on a pylon. Later, the masts were removed and twin pole aerials fitted to the aft cabin just behind the wheelhouse with a small tripod mast fitted to the wheelhouse roof. RNLB Ruby and Arthur Reed (ON 990) went on station at Cromer in March 1967, followed by RNLB James and Catherine Macfarlane (ON 989) which took up duties at Padstow in July 1967.

Attention now turned to a steel-hulled development of the 48 ft 6 in Oakley which would dispense with the complex water ballast system and achieve its self-righting capability from a watertight superstructure. This emerged as the Solent class and initial orders for eight boats were placed with Operational Numbers following on from the Oakleys (48-004 to 48-011, the three digit second part of the number indicating a metal hull). Two final Oakleys were then ordered, taking Operational Numbers 48-12 and 48-13. The first of these, 48-12 Charles Henry (ON 1015) went on station at Selsey in January 1969, a few months before the first Solent. 48-13 Princess Marina (ON 1016) began service at Wick in July 1970.

Like the smaller boats, the 48 ft 6 in Oakleys were prone to hull deterioration through electrolysis and were not considered for sale for further use. Initially, all five boats were put on display at various locations, but two, 48-01 and 48-13 were subsequently broken up. After ten years on display, 48-12 was sold to a private owner who removed the water ballast system and put the boat back on the water, leaving 48-02 and 48-03 on public display at Lands End and Hythe Marina respectively. 48-02 James and Catherine MacFarlane after being out in the open at Lands End since 1988, has been sold to a private owner in July 2016 and moved to Berkshire for restoration.

Fleet

37 foot boats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name Built In service Principal stations Comments[5]
942 37-01 J.G. Graves of Sheffield 1958
WO		 1958–1978 Scarborough Preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, April 1996.
1979–1988 Relief fleet
1988–1991 Clogher Head
1991–1992 Relief fleet
1992–1993 Newcastle
960 37-02 Manchester Unity of Oddfellows 1961
WO		 1961–1990 Sheringham Sold April 1991. Preserved at The Mo Sheringham Museum.
961 37-03 Calouste Gulbenkian 1961
JSW		 1962–1969 Weston-super-Mare Sold November 1991.
12/22, Under restoration at Donaghadee.
1970–1990 Relief fleet
1990–1991 New Quay
966 37-04 Robert and Dorothy Hardcastle 1962
GG		 1962–1968 Boulmer Sold April 1993. Preserved at Hartlepool.
1968–1991 Filey
1991–1993 Relief fleet
972 37-05 The Will and Fanny Kirby 1963
WO		 1963–1979 Seaham Preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, April 1996.
1979–1983 Relief fleet
1983–1993 Flamborough
973 37-06 Fairlight 1964
WO		 1964–1988 Hastings Sold October 1994. Pleasure boat at Blakeney Harbour.
1988–1989 Relief fleet
1989–1990 St Ives
1990–1991 Relief fleet
1991–1992 New Quay
974 37-07 Jane Hay 1964
WO		 1964–1974 St Abbs Broken up at Arklow 1995.
1974–1980 Relief fleet
1980–1992 Newcastle
975 37-08 Sir James Knott 1963
GG		 1963–1969 Cullercoats Sold 1990. Preserved at Kirkleatham Old Hall Museum, Redcar.
1969–1972 Relief fleet
1972–1985 Redcar
1985–1990 Relief fleet
976 37-09 Lilly Wainwright 1964
GG		 1964–1990 Llandudno Sold 1993.
12/22, Pleasure boat at Crosshaven Boatyard, Cobh.
1990–1992 Kilmore Quay
977 37-10 Charles Fred Grantham 1964
GG		 1964–1990 Skegness Broken up 1993.
1990–1991 Scarborough
1991–1992 Relief fleet
978 37-11 The Royal Thames 1964
JSW		 1964–1969 Caister Sold 1994. 12/18, Stored inland, 5 mi (8.0 km) from Cromer.
1970–1978 Runswick
1979–1991 Pwllheli
1991–1993 Clogher Head
979 37-12 James and Catherine Macfarlane (1964-1967)
Amelia (1967-1991)		 1964
JSW		 1964–1978 Relief fleet Sold February 1992. Preserved at Charlestown until museum closure in 2019.
2019, awaiting restoration in a breakers yard. Unknown on state as of 2022.
1978–1991 Scarborough
980 37-13 William Henry and Mary King 1964
JSW		 1964–1967 Cromer No.2 Sold 1990. Located in Children's playground, Drayton Park Primary School, Highbury, London.
1967–1988 Bridlington
1989–1990 North Sunderland
981 37-14 Mary Pullman 1964
WO		 1965–1989 Kirkcudbright Hull on display at Baytree Garden Centre, Weston, Spalding.
982 37-15 Ernest Tom Neathercoat 1965
WO		 1965–1990 Wells-next-the-Sea Sold 1992.
Restored display/training boat, Wells-next-the-Sea December 2022.
1990–1991 North Sunderland
983 37-16 The Doctors 1965
WO		 1965–1991 Anstruther Sold 1993. Under restoration at Donaghadee.
1991–1993 Relief fleet
984 37-17 Mary Joicey 1966
HM		 1966–1981 Newbiggin Sold 1989.
On display at Newbiggin Maritime Centre December 2022.
1981–1985 Relief fleet
1985–1986 Redcar
1986–1988 Relief fleet
1988–1989 Hastings
1989 St Ives
985 37-18 Valentine Wyndham-Quin 1967
HM		 1968–1984 Clacton-on-Sea Sold 1988. On display at The Lifeboat House, The Green, Harwich July 1995.
1984–1988 Clogher Head
986 37-19 Lloyds II 1966
ML		 1966–1990 Ilfracombe Broken up 1993.
1990–1992 Sheringham
991 37-20 Edward and Mary Lester 1967
WO		 1967–1989 North Sunderland Broken up 1989.
992 37-21 Frank Penfold Marshall 1968
WO		 1968–1989 St Ives Broken up 1989.
993 37-22 Har Lil 1968
WO		 1968–1990 Rhyl Sold December 1991.
Restored, at Porth Penrhyn December 2022.
994 37-23 The Vincent Nesfield 1969
WO		 1969–1972 Relief fleet Broken up in 1991.
1972–1973 Port Erin
1973–1988 Relief fleet
1989–1991 Kilmore Quay
995 37-24 James Ball Ritchie 1970
WO		 1970–1991 Ramsey Broken up 1992.
996 37-25 Birds Eye 1970
WO		 1970–1990 New Quay On display at Moelfre Seawatch Centre from May 1991.
997 37-26 Lady Murphy 1971
WO		 1972–1988 Kilmore Quay Sold 1990. Broken up 1995.

48 foot 6 inch boats

All built by William Osborne, Littlehampton except ON 989, Berthon Boat Co., Lymington

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name Built In service Principal stations Comments[5]
968 48-01 The Earl and Countess Howe 1963 1963–1977 Yarmouth Displayed at RNLI Depot, Poole 1984-2004. Broken up 2004.
1977–1984 Walton and Frinton
989 48-02 James and Catherine Macfarlane 1967 1967–1983 Padstow Sold 1988.
On display at Land's End for many years.
Restored. Afloat, based at St Mary's, Isles of Scilly August 2022.
1983–1987 Lizard-Cadgwith
990 48-03 Ruby and Arthur Reed 1966 1967–1984 Cromer
 On display at Hythe Marina, Southampton from 1990,
1985–1988 St Davids
1015 48-12 Charles Henry 1968 1969–1984 Selsey On display at Merry Hill, Dudley 1989-1999.
Pleasure boat at Royal Quays Marina, North Shields April 2022.
1984–1987 Baltimore
1016 48-13 Princess Marina 1970 1970–1988 Wick Displayed at National Lifeboat Museum, Pitsea. Broken up 2003.
  1. 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. 1 2 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

References

  1. ↑ Leach, Nicholas (2003). Oakley Class Lifeboats: an Illustrated History of the RNLI's Oakley and Rother Lifeboats. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-2784-3.
  2. ↑ Wake-Walker, Edward; Deane, Heather; Purches, Georgette (1989). Lifeboat! Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1835-9.
  3. ↑ Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 22–27.
  4. 1 2 Kipling, Ray; Kipling, Susannah (2006). Never Turn Back. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 87–88. ISBN 0-7509-4307-6.
  5. 1 2 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
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