Rother-class lifeboat
The Rother-class lifeboat was a self-righting lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1972 and 1995. They were based on the 37 ft Oakley-class lifeboat.
History
The Rother-class was the final displacement hull lifeboat produced by the RNLI. As a result of the decision to have fast lifeboats at all all-weather stations they had a shorter than usual career and none of the 14 built reached 20 years service. The 1982 built RNLB James Cable was the last displacement hull boat in RNLI service when withdrawn from in December 1993.Design
The Rother-class was a development of the 37 ft boat, like its predecessor primarily intended for carriage launching, although 6 of the 14 went to slipway stations. A major change was the abandonment of the Oakley's complicated water ballast self-righting system. The Rother achieved its self-righting ability from its extended watertight superstructure and all had an enclosed wheelhouse with the radar mounted on the roof. Twin 52 hp Ford Thorneycroft 250 four cylinder diesels gave a maximum speed of and at this speed the range was around 180 nautical miles. The boats built for and had strengthed hulls for beach launching over skids.Fleet
Note: Op No's 37-01 to 37-26 were allocated to Oakley-class lifeboats| ON | Op. No. | Name | Built | In service | Principal Station | Launching method | Further use |
| 998 | 37-27 | Osman Gabriel | 1972 | 1973–1992 | Slipway | Sold March 1993 | |
| 999 | 37-28 | Diana White | 1973 | 1973–1991 | Slipway | Sold 1992. Named Joseph Day in Tauranga, NZ. | |
| 1000 | 37-29 | Mary Gabriel | 1973 | 1974–1990 1990–1992 | Carriage Carriage | Sold October 1992 | |
| 1022 | 37-30 | Harold Salvesen | 1973 | 1974–1986 1986–1992 | Relief fleet | Afloat -- | Sold October 1992 |
| 1023 | 37-31 | J. Reginald Corah | 1974 | 1975–1992 | Slipway | Sold June 1995 | |
| 1024 | 37-32 | The Hampshire Rose | 1974 | 1975–1990 1990–1992 | Relief fleet Amstruthe & Swanage | Beach -- | Sold October 1992. Charter boat doing lifeboat trips ilfracombe devon |
| 1046 | 37-33 | Silver Jubilee | 1977 | 1978–1991 1991–1993 | Relief fleet | Carriage -- | Sold March 1994 |
| 1047 | 37-34 | Horace Clarkson | 1977 | 1977–1987 1987–1993 | Relief fleet | Slipway -- | Sold May 1993 |
| 1048 | 37-35 | Alice Upjohn | 1976 | 1977–1992 1992–1993 | Relief fleet | Carriage -- | Sold 1995. Ivan Talley Rescue, Greymouth, New Zealand. Into private hands as Alice Upjohn at Lyttelton, NZ. |
| 1054 | 37-36 | Shoreline | 1979 | 1979–1982 1982–1993 | Slipway Slipway | Sold February 1994 | |
| 1055 | 37-37 | Duke of Kent | 1982 | 1979–1993 | Slipway | Sold June 1995. Survey Boat Tayport harbour. | |
| 1063 | 37-38 | Princess of Wales | 1982 | 1982–1992 1992–1993 | Relief fleet | Carriage -- | Sold May 1993 |
| 1064 | 37-39 | The Davys Family | 1981 | 1981–1994 1986–1993 | Relief fleet | Slipway -- | Sold July 1995 |
| 1068 | 37-40 | James Cable | 1982 | 1982–1993 | Beach | Sold August 1994. To ADES 13, Uruguay |