“ has been severe enough to move the engine and gearbox on their anti-vibration mounts, requiring realignment and retorquing.” In terms of engines, faults “tend to the physical punishment taken through the hull of the boat when experiencing rough seas, especially through vibration and slamming against waves,” Gasgarth explains.
The nature of repair work depends on the nature of the issue. Planned maintenance documents detail exactly what tasks are required, when, and how they should be carried out. A team of regional technicians and maintenance managers also support each station. With both the lives of RNLI crew and the people in trouble at sea at stake, Gasgarth says the “level and standard of maintenance is particularly high.” Each ALB lifeboat station typically has a full-time mechanic responsible for the maintenance and repair of the vessels. All the newly refitted boats will be equipped with the MTU 10V2000 M94 engines. *The Severn class lifeboat is currently undergoing a life extension programme to allow it to serve for a further 25 years.
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This gives the Coxswain the option to use full throttles and sit at 100% boat load for extended periods, if the circumstances dictate, without overexerting the engines,” says Gasgarth. The Scania engines fitted onto the Shannon (and the MTU engines fitted onto the Severn Mk2) class lifeboats come with an additional advantage they are designed to “run at approximately 80% of the original engine specified output load. “This increase in speed will allow quicker response times for reaching casualties and faster returns, allowing our crew to return to a place of safety as soon as possible,” Gasgarth explains. First introduced in 1988, “it was designed to have a 15 to 17-knot capability, which was, at the time of introduction, a huge advance in capability and speed over its predecessor,” says Gasgarth.Īs part of the RNLI’s drive to have all ALBs at 25-knot capacity, the Mersey and Trent class vessels are being replaced by the newer Shannon class vessel. The oldest class currently in operation is the Mersey class lifeboat. “Within our ALB fleet, we currently operate five classes of lifeboats,” says Fraser Gasgarth, a machinery trainer with the RNLI who specialises in ALBs. The all-weather lifeboats (ALBs) can operate in harsher conditions and further from the shore. Hovercrafts are used for mudflats and estuaries. The inshore lifeboats are fast and highly manoeuvrable, allowing them to operate close to shore, near cliffs, and in caves. The RNLI has two categories of lifeboats. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has been saving lives for the past 200 years, thanks to the dedication of RNLI staff and volunteers, including the mechanics that keep the vessels in tip-top condition.
Meticulous training, maintenance and preparations ensure RNLI vessels are where they need to be.
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