More and more crews have been getting to grips with our most advanced all-weather lifeboat yet. So, as we celebrate 3 years since the first Shannon class launched, what’s the verdict?

12 MONTHS
to produce a new Shannon

1.5 TONNES
water pumped by its waterjets every second

25 KNOTS
at full speed

The first Shannon arrived for service at Dungeness Lifeboat Station in February 2014 – a significant milestone in our mission to provide a 25-knot all-weather fleet around the UK and Ireland. Today, we’re reaching closer towards this target with 10 Shannon class lifeboats now on station and 4 in our relief fleet. But this year we’ll be adding another to the relief numbers, thanks to the incredible support towards our Shannon Christmas appeal. So what are the lifesaving features that set her apart? Built for speed
Flat out, two 650hp Scania engines can power the Shannon several knots faster than the all-weather lifeboats she’s replacing – the
Mersey and the Tyne class. At 25 knots, the Shannon can match the speed of our other all-weather lifeboats, the Severn, Tamar and Trent. And she still has 20% power to spare. When Hoylake lifeboat crew were tasked to Liverpool Pier Head for an urgent search and rescue, the Shannon’s speed came into its own. Her pace gave Hoylake volunteers options as they negotiated a sandbank between the lifeboat station and the River Mersey. ‘There are times when you can’t get through the Rock Channel and have to take the longer way round, through the main channel’ says Hoylake’s Andy Dodd. ‘Because of her speed, the Shannon gave us a bigger time window so we were able to avoid the main channel and get up there more quickly.’ In June 2015, Lough Swilly lifeboat crew launched into the night – with several miles to cover – to reach the search area for three missing people following a fishing trip from Malin Head. ‘In the Tyne class we used to be able to get there in an hour and 10 minutes,’ says Coxswain Mark Barnett. ‘With the Shannon, it took around 40 minutes.’ It all starts at the launch Time is critical during a rescue and it’s not just the Shannon’s speed through the water that makes a difference – it’s quick to launch too. When Exmouth’s Coxswain Steve Hockings- Thompson and his crew rescued four people from a sinking powerboat in February 2015, they used the Shannon’s bespoke launching carriage to get on the water in minutes. Faster launching is one thing, but the Shannon’s launch and recovery system also excels when the lifeboat comes home to station.
As Exmouth’s Mechanic Andy Williams explains: ‘We pull the lifeboat off the beach onto the carriage. Then, we spin the carriage round and pull it back into its locked position. The boat’s ready for launch again in around 15 minutes.’ Keeping our crews safe Carriage launches are not only quicker, but the Shannon’s launch and recovery system also makes them safer. ‘We have a single sea-catch release instead of quarter chains on the side of the boat like we used to have,’ adds Andy. ‘The sea-catch is controlled by the coxswain – when he’s ready and we’re deep enough, he presses the button and off we go. And all the crew members are safely in their seats.’ The shock-absorbing seats are an important safety feature in their own right. Although the Shannon’s hull has been designed to reduce slamming in rough weather, the movement over the water can still knock crew members off their feet. That’s why the systems and information management system (SIMS) was designed. This impressive piece of kit enables the crew to monitor and control the lifeboat’s communication, navigation, engine, transmission, fuel and bilge systems from the safety of their seats. Every detail on the Shannon has been designed to minimise risk to the crew. After finding four casualties in the water, the priority for the Exmouth crew was to get them out as quickly as possible. Previously, this would have meant deploying a scramble net over the side of their boat – but the Shannon has a deckmounted A frame, which swings out over the side. ‘We put a strop on the A frame, which goes around the casualty,’ says Andy, ‘under their arms, and up in front of them. We winch them out of the water and pull them onto the deck. There’s no manual handling involved.’ ‘Everything about the Shannon is user friendly,’ adds Hoylake’s Andy Dodd. ‘Take the cooling seawater intakes. If the port one gets blocked you can cross connect them and run everything on the starboard side. ‘She’s also good to work on. I’m quite a tall guy so there’s not a lot of head height. But there is lots of space around the jets and engines.’ Lough Swilly’s Mark Barnett also agrees. ‘The visibility from the wheelhouse is second to none. The air conditioning unit creates a pleasant working environment. And it’s much quieter than the Tyne. You’d take this boat any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!’A first in manoeuvrability The Shannon runs on waterjets instead of propellers. As well as providing raw power, waterjets also make the boat very agile, giving the coxswain greater control. This proved useful when Hoylake lifeboat crew were called to attend to a 24m fishing vessel with engine failure, 38 miles out in the Irish Sea. Andy recalls: ‘The vessel weighed 200 tonnes. We hadn’t pulled anything that big with the Shannon before. We held station right under the bow while the tow ropes were passed. We were able to move the stern to port and starboard, move closer and move away using the waterjets. That gave the lads on deck more time. With our tow established, at 1,500rpm, 70 litres of fuel per hour and pulling at 5–6 knots, the lifeboat didn’t bat an eyelid. The Shannon makes everything very easy. ‘We were able to stand just 1–2m away, so we could shine a light and search the whole area.
We controlled the boat using the throttles and bucket controls. You could write your name with her in the sea – she’s that manoeuvrable!’ To date, our Shannon class lifeboats have rescued 290 people – we plan to build another 36 by 2021. With the generous support of people like you, we can continue to fund this work and lead our lifesaving into the future.

The Launch and Recovery System

The Shannon can launch four ways – afloat, from a boathouse slipway, from a carriage slipway or by driving it off a carriage. And there are three ways of recovering it – winching it onto a carriage, hauling it out using a tractor or a carriage, or using a boathouse winch. Our launch and recovery system for carriage launches can operate over difficult beach terrain in all sea conditions. ‘In Exmouth, we’re on an estuary and the sandbanks are constantly moving and changing,’ says Andy. ‘On an extremely low tide, when it’s too shallow to launch, we just drive the carriage to our alternative site.’ The tracked vehicle holds a cradle, which rotates the Shannon 180° during recovery, greatly reducing the time between recovery and relaunch. The launching tractor can be hydraulically lowered and raised as required.

The specifications
Approximately 13.6m long and 4.5m wide, the Shannon’s hull is a laminate sandwich comprising six watertight compartments. It is extremely stable and has been designed to withstand slamming in rough seas. Twin Hamilton waterjets provide propulsion. Each jet has a movable nozzle to provide steering, and a bucket assembly to provide ahead and astern movement. The waterjet intakes are located within the hull, under the jet space forward of the transom, and are protected with grills to stop
large debris damaging the jet impellers. The waterjets allow the boat to operate in shallow water and to be intentionally beached
if needed.

Words: Jasmin Downs and Rob Westcott

Photos: RNLI/Steve Lowe, Brendan Diver, Harrison Bates, Stephen
Duncombe, Nigel Millard