The Trent class lifeboat is an all-weather lifeboat

Lifeboat (rescue)

A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...

 operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....

 (RNLI) from 30 stations around the coasts of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 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...

 to provide coverage up to 50 miles (80.5 km) out to sea. Introduced to service in 1994, the class is named after the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

, the second longest river wholly in England.

History

In the 1980s the RNLI's and all-weather lifeboats provided coverage 30 miles (48.3 km) out to sea, operating at up to 18 knots (35.3 km/h) to cover the distance in two hours in good weather. However the RNLI felt that they needed the capability to extend their coverage to 50 miles (80.5 km) radius which would require lifeboats with a top speed of 25 knots (49 km/h). This resulted in the 14 metres (45.9 ft) Trent and 17 metres (55.8 ft) lifeboats.

The prototype for the Trent class was built in 1991. It was used for trials until 1994, when it was put into active service at Alderney Lifeboat Station. It remained on station there until their own boat was available in 1995, since when it has served in the relief fleet. Construction of its sister boats continued until 2004.

Design

The Trent is intended to lie afloat at moorings. It has five water-tight bulkheads to create six compartments: fore peak; fore store; survivor cabin; tank space; machinery space; and aft peak steering compartment. Above these is the main deckhouse which has seats for the six crew and a doctor. This is another water-tight space which provides the boat's self-righting capability.

Designed and built by Green Marine, each boat is constructed of over 100 mm thick fibre reinforced composite topsides, single laminate double hull bottoms, 4 water-tight bulkheads and prepreg epoxy, glass and Kevlar

Kevlar

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...

 shields.

The Trent has a service life of 25 years, although current estimates appear to exceed these original operational confines due to constant on-station maintenance, periodic refitting and sporadic repairs. In comparison with its predecessors, the boat has numerous additional advantages which aid in the overall success of every launch. One detail would be its condensed hull, which allows it to operate in significantly constrained locations (such as marina berths and dense quayside scenes).

Another aspect aiding in its confined manoeuvrability would be the bilge keels which aid in protecting its twin drive props. Its hull sheerline sweeps down into an area known as the welldeck, which dramatically helps with ease of casualty recovery. The remote location of an a-frame hoist also provides additional assistance for particularly awkward recoveries (such as casualties in stretchers) .

As of 2006, each Trent class lifeboat is complemented with an array of advanced technologies. Each device provides full assistance in search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

 operations, and therefore must be of an officially high standard. The comprehensive electronics fit includes full radio equipment including Navtex Multi-Frequency

Multi-frequency

In telephony, multi-frequency signaling is an outdated, in-band signaling technique. Numbers were represented in a two-out-of-five code for transmission from a multi-frequency sender, to be received by a multi-frequency receiver in a distant telephone exchange...

, Marine Very High Frequency and DSC

Global Maritime Distress Safety System

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System is an internationally agreed-upon set of safety procedures, types of equipment, and communication protocols used to increase safety and make it easier to rescue distressed ships, boats and aircraft....

 installations. For navigation the crew utilize an array of digital select systems including DGPS

Differential GPS

Differential Global Positioning System is an enhancement to Global Positioning System that provides improved location accuracy, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to about 10 cm in case of the best implementations....

 equipment, and an electronic Laserplot chart display and information system

Electronic Chart Display and Information System

An Electronic Chart Display and Information System is a computer-based navigation information system that complies with International Maritime Organization regulations and can be used as an alternative to paper nautical charts...

 which allows complete automated management via the vessel's on-board processors (autohelm), although comparatively infrequent in practice.

VHF/DF

Direction finding

Direction finding refers to the establishment of the direction from which a received signal was transmitted. This can refer to radio or other forms of wireless communication...

, radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 and weather sensors are other features pertaining to the lifeboat. Provisions for survivors include complete First Aid Equipment including the Basket and Neill Robertson stretchers, oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 and Entonox

Entonox

A mix of nitrous oxide 50% and oxygen 50% is a medical anaesthesia gas, commonly known as Entonox or Nitronox, or colloquially as gas and air, and is frequently used in pre-hospital care, childbirth and emergency medicine situations by medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, midwives and...

 breathing systems, ambulance pouch, thermodynamic food canisters and even sick bags for ailing casualties. Trent's house a small toilet arrangement, while the afterdeck houses a salvage pump in a water-tight container for use in inter-vessel salvage, while the presence of two fire hoses allow proficient fire fighting. The Trent carries an inflatable XP-boat

XP class lifeboat

The XP class lifeboat is a class of small inflatable boat operated by the RNLI of the United Kingdom and Ireland.The XP-Class Lifeboat, based on the commercially available Avon Rover 280 is mainly used as a small tender carried on board the RNLI All Weather lifeboats.The XP class carries a crew of...

 which is powered by a 5 hp outboard engine, and can be deployed in slight conditions to gain access to rocks or beaches when an inshore lifeboat is otherwise unavailable.

Fleet

ON	Op. No.	Name	In service	Station
1180	14-01	Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma	1994–	Relief fleet
1197	14-02	Esme Anderson	1994–	Ramsgate Ramsgate lifeboat station Ramsgate lifeboat station is an RNLI station located in the Port of Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The station is one of the oldest to operate in the British Isles and has launched to many notable services...
1198	14-03	Blue Peter VII	1994–	Fishguard Fishguard Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
1199	14-04	Roy Barker I	1995–	Alderney Alderney Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
1200	14-05	Anna Livia	1995–	Dun Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
1204	14-06	Windsor Runner (C.S. No. 42)	1995–	Relief fleet
1205	14-07	Frederick Storey Cockburn	1995–	Courtmacsherry Harbour Courtmacsherry Courtmacsherry is a picturesque seaside village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland, on the southwest coast. It is about 30 miles southwest of Cork, and 30 minutes drive east from the town of Clonakilty. The village consists of a single long street on the south shore of Courtmacsherry...
1206	14-08	Douglas Aikman Smith	1996–	Invergordon Invergordon Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it was also known for the repair of oil rigs which used to be lined up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated...
1207	14-09	Sir Ronald Petchell Bt.	1995–2008	Dunbar (Torness)Damaged beyond repair
1208	14-10	Samarbeta	1996–	Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station is a RNLI base in Norfolk, England. There were originally two separate stations at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston - two coastal towns either side of the River Yare. These were merged in 1926.-Great Yarmouth:...
1209	14-11	Barclaycard Crusader	1996–	Eyemouth Eyemouth Eyemouth , historically spelt Aymouth, is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north-south A1 road and just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It has a population of circa 3,420 people .The town's name comes from its location at...
1210	14-12	Forward Birmingham	1996	Relief Fleet (from 2008).
1211	14-13	George and Ivy Swanson	1996–	Sheerness Sheerness Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
1212	14-14	George and Mary Webb	1996–	Whitby Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
1213	14-15	Henry Heys Duckworth	1996–	Barry Dock Barry Dock Lifeboat Station Barry Dock Lifeboat Station opened in 1901. In 1922, the station received its first motor lifeboat and in 1973 the station received a second lifeboat...
1214	14-16	Stanley Watson Barker	1996–	Portree Portree Portree is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the location for the only secondary school on the Island, Portree High school. Public transport services are limited to buses....
1215	14-17	Elizabeth and Ronald	1996–	Dunmore East Dunmore East Dunmore East is a popular tourist and fishing village village in County Waterford, Ireland. Situated on the west side of Waterford Harbour on Ireland's southeastern coast, it lies within the barony of Gaultier : a reference to the influx of Norman settlers in the area.-History:Iron Age people...
1222	14-18	Maurice and Joyce Hardy'’	1996–	Fowey Fowey Lifeboat Station Fowey Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution search and rescue operations at Fowey on the south coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was stationed in the area in 1859 and the present station was opened in 1997...
1223	14-19	Ger Tigchelaar	1997–	Arklow Arklow Arklow , also known as Inbhear Dé from the Avonmore river's older name Abhainn Dé, is a historic town located in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century, Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion...
1224	14-20	Roy Barker II	1997–	Wick Wick, Highland Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...
1225	14-21	MacQuarie	1997–	Relief fleet
1226	14-22	Edward Duke of Windsor	1997–	Relief fleet
1227	14-23	Mora Edith MacDonald	1997–	Oban Oban Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
1228	14-24	Dora Foster McDougall	1997–	Relief fleet
1233	14-25	Austin Lidbury	1998–	Ballycotton Ballycotton Ballycotton is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated about 25 miles east of Cork city. It is a famous fishing village and has given its name to the folk band Ballycotton. The village is set on a rocky-ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and its sandy beach that stretches for about...
1234	14-26	Gough Rotchie II	1998–	Port St Mary
1239	14-27	Robert Hywell Jones Williams	1999–	Fenit Fenit Fenit is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on north side of Tralee Bay about west of Tralee town, just south of the Shannon Estuary. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit which extends northwards from the Dingle peninsula...
1240	14-28	Sam and Ada Moody	1999–	Achill
1245	14-29	Inner Wheel II	2000–	Barry Dock Barry Dock Lifeboat Station Barry Dock Lifeboat Station opened in 1901. In 1922, the station received its first motor lifeboat and in 1973 the station received a second lifeboat...
1246	14-30	Dr John McSparran	2000–	Larne Larne Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
1252	14-31	Elizabeth of Glamis	2001–	Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
1253	14-32	Corinne Whiteley	2001–	Relief fleet
1258	14-33	Roy Barker III	2002–	Howth Howth Howth is an area in Fingal County near Dublin city in Ireland. Originally just a small fishing village, Howth with its surrounding rural district is now a busy suburb of Dublin, with a mix of dense residential development and wild hillside, all on the peninsula of Howth Head. The only...
1259	14-34	Willie & May Gall	2002–	Fraserburgh Fraserburgh Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
1266	14-35	John Neville Taylor	2002–	Relief fleet assigned to Dunbar Dunbar Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....  in 2008
1267	14-36	Saxon	2003–	Donaghadee Donaghadee Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census...
1274	14-37	Betty Huntbatch	2003–	Hartlepool Hartlepool Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
1275	14-38	Jim Moffat	2004–	Troon Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...

'ON' is the RNLI's Official Number; 'Op. No.' Is the operational number carried on the hull. Stations given correct in 2009 unless otherwise stated.

External links

• RNLI Fleet:Trent Class