Tamar-Class Lifeboat
The Tamars are all-weather lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They have replaced the majority of the older Tyne-class. The prototype was built in 2000 and 27 production boats were introduced between 2006 and 2013.
The class name comes from the River Tamar in south-west England which flows into the English Channel where they were manufactured by Babcock International Group.
The Tamar has a new design of crew workstation with seats that can move up and down 20 cm as the boat passes through rough seas at high speed, and a networked computerised Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) which allows the crew to monitor and control the boat entirely from within the wheelhouse. The coxswain and helmsman have seat-mounted throttles, trackerball and joystick controls of the rudder. Alternatively the boat may be monitored and controlled by two controls on the bridge: dual throttle controls and joystick on the left; dual throttle, wheel and control-screen on the right. All aspects of the vessel may also be controlled from this position.
The lifeboat is completely water-tight, allowing it to self-right with up to 60 people on board. The boat has the potential to carry a maximum of 120 passengers on board, but without self-righting capability. The survivors' space has room for 10 sitting and eight standing. It is accessed either through the wheelhouse or the foredeck emergency escape hatch.
Each Tamar carries a Y-Class inflatable boat which can be deployed and recovered over the stern ramp whilst underway at sea.
Diamond Jubilee (16-23) is seen above on the River Thames, participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012. At the time she was brand-new, and was subsequently based in Eastbourne.
Each Tamar is 16m long, 5m in beam and has a draught of just 1.35m. They weight 31.5 tonnes and their two Caterpillar diesel engines drive two fixed-pitch five-blade propellers that can give the vessel a maximum speed of 25 knots. The boats have a range of 460 km.
Tamar-Class Lifeboat
The Tamars are all-weather lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They have replaced the majority of the older Tyne-class. The prototype was built in 2000 and 27 production boats were introduced between 2006 and 2013.
The class name comes from the River Tamar in south-west England which flows into the English Channel where they were manufactured by Babcock International Group.
The Tamar has a new design of crew workstation with seats that can move up and down 20 cm as the boat passes through rough seas at high speed, and a networked computerised Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) which allows the crew to monitor and control the boat entirely from within the wheelhouse. The coxswain and helmsman have seat-mounted throttles, trackerball and joystick controls of the rudder. Alternatively the boat may be monitored and controlled by two controls on the bridge: dual throttle controls and joystick on the left; dual throttle, wheel and control-screen on the right. All aspects of the vessel may also be controlled from this position.
The lifeboat is completely water-tight, allowing it to self-right with up to 60 people on board. The boat has the potential to carry a maximum of 120 passengers on board, but without self-righting capability. The survivors' space has room for 10 sitting and eight standing. It is accessed either through the wheelhouse or the foredeck emergency escape hatch.
Each Tamar carries a Y-Class inflatable boat which can be deployed and recovered over the stern ramp whilst underway at sea.
Diamond Jubilee (16-23) is seen above on the River Thames, participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012. At the time she was brand-new, and was subsequently based in Eastbourne.
Each Tamar is 16m long, 5m in beam and has a draught of just 1.35m. They weight 31.5 tonnes and their two Caterpillar diesel engines drive two fixed-pitch five-blade propellers that can give the vessel a maximum speed of 25 knots. The boats have a range of 460 km.