A NEW 47-feet Watson cabin life-boat, the first of her kind, completed her trials during the summer of 1955. She has now been sent to her station at Thurso, Caithness-shire.

The new life-boat is a development of the 46-feet 9-inches Watson cabin type, but like the new 42-feet type, a description of which appeared in the September 1954 number of The Life- boat, she is fitted with diesel engines of a commercial type. The engines in this case are twin 60 h.p. Gardner 5 LW diesel engines, which are installed in an engine room with a watertight inner bottom.

Greater Speed and Endurance The following table shows the differ- ences in speed, fuel consumption and endurance between the present 46-feet 9-inches and the new 47-feet type: TYPE FUEL FULL TOTAL CONSUMPTION SPEED ENDURANCE PER HOUR gallons knots - miles 4.35 4.95 210 280 46' 9" 47' After completing her trials at Little- hampton, where she was built, the new life-boat was sent on a long sea trial.

The life-boat stations at which she called were: Yarmouth (Isle of Wight), Weymouth, Torbay, Salcombe and Falmouth in the south-west of Eng- land; Ballycotton, Dunmore East, Rosslare Harbour and Donaghadee in Ireland; Campbeltown, Barra Island, Stornoway, Thurso, Lerwick, Wick, Fraserburgh, Aberdeen, and Montrose in Scotland; and Holy Island, Tync- mouth, Hartlepool, Teesmouth, Humber, Gorleston and Great Yar- mouth, Ramsgate, Dover, and New- haven on the east and south coasts of England.

Rigidly to Schedule This trial afforded an opportunity of testing the engines by driving them hard all the way. The boat kept rigidly to her schedule and reached Littlehampton on the 10th of August, after completing 1,918 miles in 217 hours at an average speed of 8.83 knots without any form of engine trouble. Two days after her arrival she was inspected by members of the Committee of Management.

Thirty-two Deputations Thirty-two deputations from dif- ferent life-boat stations went afloat in the boat in the course of the sea trial.

A memorandum was submitted to each of these deputations asking both for their general opinion on the engines and their views on a number of new features in the construction of the life-boat. They expressed unanimous agreement that the engines and the watertight double bottom of the engine-room were altogether satis- factory, and none of the deputations was able to suggest any comparable engine of a commercial type which would be preferable.

One of the new features of this life-boat is the provision of a covered steering position which virtually pro- vides a wheelhouse. The purpose of this is to afford greater protection from weather for life-boat crews, and an overwhelmingly favourable view of this new feature was taken by the crews which examined it. To make these wheelhouses standard features in all 47-feet and 52-feet life-boats would necessitate heightening the main boat- house doors at a number of stations, and this question is being further examined by the Committee of Man- agement.

Worm Drive Steering The new life-boat is also fitted with worm drive steering instead of the normal type of self-centering steering.

Until reaching a rudder angle of 22|° the load is approximately 11 Ib. less with the worm drive steering than with the self-centering steering, and as a result the life-boat becomes easier to manoeuvre. This modification was also approved by an overwhelming majority of the deputations and will become a standard feature of life- boats of 42 feet and more to be built in the future.

Other minor modifications which were fully approved were the provision of bulwarks forward and aft and of a larger fender with a rubber buffer on the outside edge.

Before going to Thurso the life-boat was also fitted, at the request of the Thurso honorary secretary and cox- swain, with an echo sounder. Most of the fishing boats in the Thurso area are fitted with echo sounders, and the use of one in the life-boat is being tried as an experiment. The type fitted is the Bendix DR-10A..