Solent-class lifeboat

Sea Guardian, formerly R. Hope Roberts (ON 1011) at Australian National Maritime Museum, 2015
Class overview
Builders	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes Camper & Nicholson, Gosport
Operators	RNLI ADES Uruguay SAR Tallinn, Estonia
Preceded by	Watson
Succeeded by	Tyne
Built	1969–1973
In service	1969–2021
Completed	11
Retired	11
General characteristics
Type	motor lifeboat
Displacement	27 tons
Length	48 ft 6 in (14.78 m)
Beam	14 ft (4.3 m)
Draught	4 ft 8 in (1.42 m)
Propulsion	2 x 110 bhp Gardner 6LX diesel engines
Speed	9.5 knots (10.9 mph)
Range	150 nautical miles (280 km)
Crew	7

The Solent-class lifeboat is a steel-hulled version of the 48-foot-6-inch (14.78 m) Oakley-class self-righting lifeboat and is sometimes referred to as the 48-foot, 6-inch Oakley-class Mark III. Solent Operational Numbers followed on from the first three 48-foot, 6-inch Oakleys and were interrupted by the last two Oakleys (48-12 and 48-13). The operational numbers of the Solent-class had three digits in the suffix to indicate a metal hull (as with Clyde, Waveney, Thames and Tyne classes, one Arun class and the first eleven Merseys). Two digits indicates a wooden, glass-reinforced plastic or fiber-reinforced composite hull.

Description

The Solent was powered by twin 110 bhp Gardner 6LX diesel engines which gave the boat a top speed of 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph). There were twin spade rudders installed which were coupled to Mathway manual steering gear.

Apart from the steel hull, the Solent-class differed from the Oakley-class in its self-righting mechanism. The Oakley used a water ballast system, while the Solent class was self-righting as a result of its watertight superstructure. The Solent was the last class of traditional displacement-type lifeboats designed by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

There were two versions of the Solent, unofficially known as "Mark I" and "Mark II". The "Mark I" boats have a vertical steering wheel. Sliding doors provide access to the forward end of the wheelhouse on each side. The "Mark II" boats have a seated steering position with hinged wheelhouse doors at the after end of the wheelhouse. These boats entered service in 1972.

The first four Solent-class boats (ON 1007-1010) and the last three (ON 1019-1021) were built by Groves & Guttridge at Cowes. The second four (ON 1011-1014) were built by Camper & Nicholson at Gosport.

RNLI fleet

ON	Op. No.	Name	Built	In Service	Station	Comments
1007	48-004	George Urie Scott	1969	1969–1978 1979–1984 1985–1989 1989–1990	Lochinver Rosslare Harbour Lochinver Relief fleet	Sold 1990. Renamed Lunga and Blue Highlander. Now named Highlander, at Uitwellingerga, NL, December 2024
1008	48-005	James and Mariska Joicey	1969	1969–1986 1987–1988 1988–1990	Peterhead The Lizard Relief fleet	Sold 1990. Restored 2014–2021. At Restonguet Creek, Mylor, Cornwall, December 2024
1009	48-006	Jack Shayler and the Lees	1970	1970–1987 1988 1989 1989–1993	Bembridge Dunbar Wicklow Relief fleet	Sold June 1994. Renamed Anne with SAR Tallinn, Estonia. See below.
1010	48-007	David and Elizabeth King and E. B.	1970	1970–1988 1988–1989 1989–1990	Longhope Invergordon Relief fleet	Sold 1990. Renamed Island Lass and Storm. Now in unaltered condition bearing original name in private ownership at Glasson Dock, Lancashire, August 2024.
1011	48-008	R. Hope Roberts	1969	1969–1978 1979–1985 1985–1987 1987 1987–1993	Rosslare Harbour Fraserburgh Galway Bay Relief fleet Courtmacsherry Harbour	Sold 1993. Renamed ANL Sea Guardian Now named Sea Guardian in private ownership, Gold Coast City Marina, Queensland, Aus, March 2024
1012	48-009	City of Birmingham	1970	1970–1983 1984–1993 1993–1994	Exmouth Walton and Frinton Relief fleet	Sold July 1995 Renamed ADES 14 with ADES Uruguay. See below.
1013	48-010	The Royal British Legion Jubilee	1970	1970–1978 1979–1979 1979–1986 1986–1988 1988–1990	Relief Fleet Fraserburgh Relief fleet Peterhead Relief fleet	Sold April 1990. Renamed Ocean Jubilee, restored in Wakefield. Renamed The Royal British Legion Jubilee, Broken up in Knottingley, December 2020.
1014	48-011	The Three Sisters	1970	1970–1988 1988–1989 1989–1990	Thurso Wicklow Relief fleet	Sold April 1990. October 2018, Heavily converted cruiser, now at Turnchapel, Plymouth, December 2024
1019	48-014	Lady MacRobert	1972	1972–1989 1989–1993	Montrose Relief fleet	Sold March 1994 Renamed ADES 12 with ADES Uruguay See below.
1020	48-015	Hugh William Viscount Gough	1973	1973–1984 1984–1988 1988–1993	Stornoway Barra Island Dunbar	Sold September 1993. Unaltered pleasure boat at Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, September 2021.
1021	48-016	Douglas Currie	1973	1973–1974 1974–1975 1975–1984 1985 1986–1989 1990–1992	Relief fleet Kirkwall Macduff Fraserburgh Portpatrick Workington	Sold 1992. Renamed Leon del Mar and Solent Sea Lion. Now in unaltered condition bearing bearing original name, in private ownership at Fraserburgh, Scotland, November 2024.

Other fleets

RNLI ON	Name	Built	In Service	Station	Comments
1009	Anne (SAR Tallinn, Estonia)	1970	1994–2006	Tallinn	Broken up 2021.
1012	ADES 14 ILC 95 (ADES Uruguay)	1970	1995–2015	Montevideo, Uruguay	Retired 2015. Sold as a workboat, last seen in storage near Montevideo, December 2022.
1019	ADES 12 (ADES Uruguay)	1972	1994–2021	Punta del Este, Uruguay	Retired 2021 For sale at Punta del Este, December 2024.