Atlantic 85 class lifeboat
Encyclopedia
Atlantic 85 class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as a part of the RNLI inshore fleet.
The Atlantic 85 is the third generation B-Class Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) developed from the Atlantic 21 and later Atlantic 75. Its hull is constructed of Fibre Reinforced Composite with a Hypalon
Hypalon
Hypalon is a trademark for chlorosulfonated polyethylene synthetic rubber noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light. It was a product of DuPont Performance Elastomers, a subsidiary of DuPont....
tube.
The Atlantic class of lifeboats is named after Atlantic College, where the design was originally developed.
Like previous RIBs it has a manually operated self-righting mechanism, deploying an airbag mounted atop the A-frame arch. It is capable of being beached in an emergency without sustaining damage to engines or steering gear. The Atlantic 85 is fitted with radar and VHF direction finding equipment and can be operated safely in daylight in a force 6/7 and at night in a force 5/6 gale.
The Atlantic 85 now has intercom communications between the crew and VHF radio via their helmets