etter All letters featured here relate to the Inshore Lifeboat Centre (ILC) in Cowes, Isle of Wight, where all RNLI inshore lifeboats are built and maintained, as featured in the winter 2005/06 issue of the Lifeboat Our cover features Helmsman Cavin Forehead and crew with the 12-year-old girt they saved and her mother. Here, Gavin writes to the ILC about the lifeboat he helmed in the rescue. For full details of the rescue itself, which brought an RNLI Silver Medal for Gallantry, see page 20.

Dear Glyn I am writing to you with regard to the recent service that I carried out in St Agnes's new lifeboat. I have been on the crew at St Agnes for 11 years and spent a lot of time in heavy swell and seas off my coast. The original D class was a fantastic boat and performed brilliantly in all conditions in surf and offshore. But when we received the new IB1-type D class boat and I first put it into heavy surf and offshore swell I was amazed how much improvement you had gained.

Its pick-up speed and manoeuvring capabilities are outstanding. The creation of the equipment pod adds weight to the bow, which means it will comfortably force its way through the surf and run into strong winds. Having a 50hp outboard engine gives more speed and control when needed. In particular, its speed astern is something that certainly helped save the lives of the people within the cave at Chapel Porth.

When I came out of the cave with five people on board I was able to continue making comfortable progress in the surf [despite the greater weight]. As I headed for deeper water I was faced by a 3m barrelling wave. I turned to outrun it and to gain speed to punch through it - the engine gave me the edge I needed. If it had not been for the new boat it could have been a very different scenario as we were right up against a 50m cliff face with no other safe exit.

Please thank everyone involved in the IB1. Without that brilliant piece of kit I could not have done what I needed to.

Many thanks Gavin Forehead, St Agnes lifeboat station Dear Gavin Thank you for your letter. I have copied it to all staff at the ILC who build and maintain D class lifeboats and equipment.

We are all very proud of what we produce at the ILC but even prouder of our crews. The feedback you have given is the best motivation for us to maintain our high standards and to strive to improve them.

Thank you for taking the trouble to write this very special letter. Keep up the great work you do.

Yours sincerely Glyn Ellis, Operations Manager ILCMembers of the Institute of Marine Engineers, Scientists and Technologists (IMarEST) Small Ship Group (SSC) recently spent a day at the ILC to learn about the RNLI's B class Atlantic lifeboats, as part of a programme of continuing professional development.

Dear Editor I am writing to thank all at the ILC for their hospitality on our recent visit.

Here is a brief report of the day.

Production Manager Peter Ball described the beginnings and growth of the centre during the past 30 years. He explained that the typical cost of the inshore lifeboats built nowadays range from the small IB1-type D class inflatable at £25,000 to the large rigid inflatable B class Atlantics at £125,000.Tim Ferguson gave a detailed explanation of the construction of and potential problems encountered with rigid hulls. Carl Baker followed with a complementary account of the inflatable tubes and their servicing.

Everyone then moved to a workshop to examine an Atlantic 75. It was deflated and inverted to expose minor damage to the keel, the result of wear and tear during launch and recovery. The group was asked to propose repairs and modifications to prevent recurrence and a lively discussion was followed by a practical demonstration of cutting back and rebuilding the defective areas.

Tony Davies, Technical Manager of Avon Rubber, gave a presentation on the various types of rubber composite materials and adhesives used in constructing the buoyancy tubes. He passed around examples of each material, describing their properties, advantages and typical applications.

Their durability in the face of long-term exposure to sunlight was discussed, along with the difference in usage cycles between RNLI craft and private and commercial craft.

The group then divided. One half donned overalls and tried their hand at making repairs to a tube and valve, under the supervision of Senior Shop Chargehand Patti Urry. Steve Pragnell took the others on a guided tour of the extremely impressive facilities. These included the inflatable craft shop, the outboard engine development shop, and the fitting shop, with units from service being stripped down and rebuilt to 'as new' standard, then tested to full power in the dynamometer test cells.

Lastly, we were shown the part-complete construction of a new Atlantic 85 hull. The extent and scantlings of the hull structure before decking was a surprise and gave full meaning to the generic title 'rigid inflatable' boat or RIB.

SSC's events organiser Mark Lockie gave hearty thanks to everyone who had made the day so invaluable for the SSC's professional knowledge of RIBs in such an enthusiastic and enjoyable way.

We hope to make this a regular event to complement the present five-day surveyors course run at Plymouth University. I shall also be encouraging all our members to become Shoreline members of the RNLI.

Yours faithfully Bob Barnes, Chairman - SSG Committee IMAGES! And finally, in direct response to the winter 2005/06 feature on the ILC Dear Editor In the winter 2005/2006 issue of the Lifeboat there was a very interesting article about the ILC that referred to the people who join the rubber tubes to the hulls as 'solutionists'. I can't find this word in my dictionary so I can only presume that it is modem management-speak gobbledegook. Why not call them assemblers, or fitters, or craftsmen, or technicians, or even technologists? There are any number of perfectly good job titles in existence without having to make one up.

I would like to say how much I enjoy reading the Lifeboat magazine and marvel at the courage and skill of the volunteer crews of the RNLI. I am very pleased to support them.

Best regards Derek White Dear Mr White I have read your comments, passed to me by the Editor of the Lifeboat. To explain the origin of our job title 'solutionist' and why it is used: The staff at the ILC who join the inflatable tubes to the rigid hulls are a mixture of semi-skilled men and women who have been trained here to cut the materials, bond and manufacture rubber components as well as gluing the tube to the hull. They use a special two-part glue that is mixed in small tins prior to use. This solution, the result of mixing two liquids, is we believe the origin of the 'solutionist' title. It was first used at the RNLI in 1967 and it has stuck (pardon the pun) with us ever since. I believe we would struggle to find another suitable title for them as it is a specialist operation. Indeed, other companies use this same job title in similar trades.

Thank you for all your support and interest in what we do here at the ILC.

Regards Glyn Ellis, Operations Manager ILC (Details of the SSG can be found on its website at smallshipsgroup.org and in its classified advertisement at the back of this magazine.)Essential information for readers Membership minimum rates Shoreline single Shoreline joint Offshore singl Offshore joint Governor single Governor joint Life Governor (One-off payment) Storm Force children's club UK £24.00 £42.00 Rol €34.00 €60.00 €86.00 £72.00 £120.00 £1,750.00 103.00 €172.00 €2,512.00 €10.50 Fundraising and publicity material If you are holding an RNLI-related event or presentation and would like fundraising and publicity materials, please see page 31 for details of your regional office.

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The Lifeboat is the members' magazine of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is published in January, April, July and October. The Lifeboat celebrates the core work of the RNLI - saving lives at sea - reporting a selection of rescues and a wide variety of background stories, including how the service is funded. The magazine is mailed to about 250,000 people and at least twice this number read it. Blind and partially sighted members can choose to receive an audio tape version as well as, or instead of, the magazine (this is a free service).

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