| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  RNLI |
| Preceded by | Watson |
| Succeeded by | Tyne |
| Built | 1969–1973[1] |
| In service | 1969–1993 |
| 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.
- ^ Howarth, Patrick (1981), Lifeboat – In Danger's Hour. (Third Impression 1982 ed.), Hamlyn, p. 140, ISBN 0-600-34959-4
- ^ Evans, Clayton (2003), Rescue at Sea – An International History of Lifesaving, Coastal Rescue Craft and Organisations, Conway Maritime Press, p. 161, ISBN 0-85177-934-4