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 The 1982 built RNLB James Cable (ON 1068) was the last displacement hull boat in RNLI service when withdrawn from Aldeburgh in December 1993.

Design
The Rother-class was a development of the 37 ft Oakley 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 8 kn and at this speed the range was around 180 nmi. The boats built for Walmer and Aldeburgh had strengthed hulls for beach launching over skids.

Fleet
Note: Op No.s 37-01 to 37-26 were allocated to Oakley-class lifeboats, the Rother-class continuing the series from 37-27.