Solent-class lifeboat

Builders

Groves & Guttridge, Cowes
Camper & Nicholson, Gosport

Operators

RNLI
ADES Uruguay
SAR Tallinn, Estonia

Preceded byWatson

SucceededbyTyne

Class overview

Sea Guardian, formerly R. Hope Roberts (ON 1011) at Australian National Maritime Museum, 2015


Builders	Groves & Guttridge, Cowes Camper & Nicholson, Gosport
Operators	RNLI ADES Uruguay SAR Tallinn, Estonia
Preceded by	Watson
Succeeded by	Tyne
Built	1969–1973^[1]
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.^[2] 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.

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.^[3]

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 inherently 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.^[2]

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.^[2]

The first four Solent-class boats (ON 1007 – ON 1010) and the last three (ON 1019 - ON 1021) were built by Groves & Guttridge at Cowes. The second four (ON 1011 – ON 1014) were built by Camper & Nicholson at Gosport.^[4]

RNLI fleet

ON^[a]	Op. No.^[b]	Name	Built	In service^[5]	Station	Comments^[4]^[5]
1007	48-004	George Urie Scott	1969	1969–1978	Lochinver	^{[Note 1]} Sold 1990. Renamed Lunga and Blue Highlander. Now named Highlander, at Ameland, NL, September 2025
				1979–1984	Rosslare Harbour
				1985–1989	Lochinver
				1989–1990	Relief fleet
1008	48-005	James and Mariska Joicey	1969	1969–1986	Peterhead	^{[Note 2]} Sold 1990. Renamed Mariska, Mirage of Dart and Thee Hearts. Restored 2014–2021 as James and Mariska Joicey . At Restonguet Creek, Mylor, Cornwall, December 2025.^[6]
				1987–1988	The Lizard
				1988–1990	Relief fleet
1009	48-006	Jack Shayler and the Lees	1970	1970–1987	Bembridge	^{[Note 3]} Sold June 1994. Renamed Anne with SAR Tallinn, Estonia. See below:–
				1988	Dunbar
				1989	Wicklow
				1989–1993	Relief fleet
1010	48-007	David and Elizabeth King and E. B.	1970	1970–1988	Longhope	^{[Note 4]} Sold 1990. Renamed Island Lass and Storm. Now in unaltered condition bearing original name at Glasson Dock, Lancashire, August 2025.
				1988–1989	Invergordon
				1989–1990	Relief fleet
1011	48-008	R. Hope Roberts	1969	1969–1978	Rosslare Harbour	^{[Note 5]} Sold 1993. Renamed ANL Sea Guardian. Now named Sea Guardian at Gold Coast City Marina, Queensland, Aus., March 2024.
				1979–1985	Fraserburgh
				1985–1987	Galway Bay
				1987	Relief fleet
				1987–1993	Courtmacsherry Harbour
1012	48-009	City of Birmingham	1970	1970–1983	Exmouth	^{[Note 6]} Sold July 1995 Renamed ADES 14 with ADES Uruguay. See below:–
				1984–1993	Walton and Frinton
				1993–1994	Relief fleet
1013	48-010	The Royal British Legion Jubilee	1970	1970–1978	Relief Fleet	^{[Note 7]} Sold April 1990. Renamed Ocean Jubilee, restored in Wakefield. Later renamed The Royal British Legion Jubilee but broken up in Knottingley, December 2020.
				1979–1979	Fraserburgh
				1979–1986	Relief fleet
				1986–1988	Peterhead
				1988–1990	Relief fleet
1014	48-011	The Three Sisters	1970	1970–1988	{Thurso	^{[Note 8]} Sold April 1990. October 2018, Heavily converted cruiser, at Turnchapel, Plymouth, April 2025.
				1988–1989	Wicklow
				1989–1990	Relief fleet
1019	48-014	Lady MacRobert	1972	1972–1989	Montrose	^{[Note 9]} Sold March 1994. Renamed ADES 12 with ADES Uruguay. See below:–
1019	48-014	Lady MacRobert	1972	1989–1993	Relief fleet
1020	48-015	Hugh William Viscount Gough	1973	1973–1984	Stornoway	^{[Note 10]} Sold September 1993. Unaltered pleasure boat at Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, September 2021. Last reported under restoration at Miri, Malaysia, January 2026.
				1984–1988	Barra Island
				1988–1993	Dunbar
1021	48-016	Douglas Currie	1973	1973–1974	Relief fleet	^{[Note 11]} Sold 1992. Renamed Leon del Mar and Solent Sea Lion. Now in unaltered condition as Douglas Currie at Fraserburgh, Scotland, June 2025.
				1974–1975	Kirkwall
				1975–1984	Macduff
				1985	Fraserburgh
				1986–1989	Portpatrick
				1990–1992	Workington

↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
↑ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Other fleets

RNLI ON^[a]	Name	Built	In service^[5]	Station	Comments^[4]^[5]
1009	Anne (SAR Tallinn, Estonia)	1970	1994–2006	Tallinn	Retired 2006? Believed broken up 2021.
1012	ADES 14 ILC 95 (ADES Uruguay)	1970	1995–2015	Montevideo	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	Retired 2021. For sale at Punta del Este, December 2024.

Notes

↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of Mrs Scott, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £70,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacy of Mrs Joicey, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacies of Miss Shayler and Mr Lees, and RNLI funds, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £59,323.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacy of Miss King, and an anonymous donor, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £59,323.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, legacies of Mrs Ronald, Mrs Hope and Mrs Roberts, plus an anonymous gift, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £70,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, funded by the City of Birmingham Lifeboat Appeal, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £72,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, funded by the Royal British Legion, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £72,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, an anonymous gift, built by Camper Nicholson of Gosport, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of 'The MacRobert Trust', built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £73,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of the Dowager Viscountess Gough and the Viscount Gough, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £73,000.
↑ 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) x 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) Solent-class lifeboat, gift of 'The Douglas Currie Trust' and the legacy of Mr Davidson, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, costing £65,113.

Solent-class lifeboat

RNLI fleet

Other fleets

Notes

References

Related Articles