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E Class Lifeboats

E-08 speeding away from Chiswick Pier. Photo Credit: watchandshoot_lifeboats

The E class inshore lifeboat is the fastest in the RNLI fleet and was specially designed for London’s busy River Thames.


With its powerful tidal currents, submerged debris and heavy traffic, the River Thames can be incredibly dangerous for those on and by the water and the E class lifeboat was designed to handle these river conditions.


The class was introduced in 2002 to serve the tidal reach of the River Thames, which had not previously been covered by an RNLI rescue service.


There are currently three different versions of the E-class, described as the mark I, mark II and mark III.

E Class Facts

Introduced: 2002-2005 (MkI), 2011-2012 (MkII), 2019-present (MkIII)

Length: 9m (MkI), 10.5m (MkII)

Width: 2.94m (MkI), 2.9m without collar; 3.5m with collar (MkII)

Load: 3.86 tonnes 

Launch Type: Afloat

Fuel Capacity: 520 litres (MkI), 500 Litres (MkII)

Crew: 3 (MkI) 4 (MkII) 4 (MkIII)

Range: 4 hours (MKI), 3 hours (MkII) at maxium speed

Engines: 

Mk1 – 2 x Steyr 246 marine diesel engines - 240hp each at 4,100rpm - with propulsion from Hamilton waterjets

Mk2 – 2 x Volvo D6 435 marine diesel engines - 435hp each, 3,300 rpm at 40 knots - with propulsion from Hamilton waterjets

Mark I

The mark I boat was an off the shelf design built by Tiger Marine. It is made of an aluminium alloy with a closed cell polythene foam collar, and is powered by two Steyr marine diesel engines delivering 240 horsepower (180 kW) each at 4,100rpm and driving Hamilton waterjets.


This combination gives the boats a maximum speed of 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) and the extreme maneuverability which is essential to enable crews to reach casualties in the fast flowing river.


 The boat is 9 metres (30 ft) long, has a beam of 2.94 metres (9 ft 8 in), a draft of 0.64 metres (2 ft 1 in), a displacement of 3.86 tonnes (3.80 long tons; 4.25 short tons), and carries three crew. The maximum endurance at full speed is 4 hours.

No

Name

Year Built

Base

Notes

E-001

Public Servant (Civil Service No.44)

2002

Tower 2002 to 2005

Relief 2005 to 2012

(1)

E-002

Olivia Laura Deare

2002

Relief 2002 to 2012

(2)

E-003

Chelsea Pensioner

2002

Chiswick 2002 to 2015

(1)

E-004

Ray and Audrey Lusty

2002

Tower 2002 to 2012

(1)

E-005

Legacy

2002

Tower 2002 to 2018

Relief  2018 to date

(3)

E-006

Joan and Ken Bellamy

2005 

Chiswick 2015 to 2018

(4)

Notes

(1) Withdrawn from use and scrapped

(2) On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard 

(3) In 2018, E-005 and E-006 were rebuilt into a single vessel at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre, Cowes. The rebuilt boat became E-005 Legacy

(4) The remains of E-006 were scrapped follow E-005 and E-006 being rebuilt into a single vessel

Mark II

The mark II boat was designed by RNLI engineers, incorporating experience gained with the mark I boats, and built by Marine Specialised Technology in Liverpool.


It has a glass epoxy-resin composite hull with a detachable polyurethane covered solid closed-cell foam collar, and is powered by two Volvo marine diesel engines delivering 435 horsepower (324 kW) each at 3,300rpm and driving Hamilton waterjets.


This combination gives the boats an improved maximum speed of 40 knots (46 mph; 74 km/h). The boat is 10.5 metres (34 ft) long, has a beam of 2.9 metres (9 ft 6 in) without collar and 3.5 metres (11 ft) with collar, a draft of 0.7 metres (2 ft 4 in), a displacement of 5.4 tonnes (5.3 long tons; 6.0 short tons), and carries four crew. The maximum endurance at full speed is 3 hours.

No

Name

Year Built

Base

Notes

E-07

Hurley Burly

2011

Tower 2011 to date


E-08

Dougie and Donna B

2012

Chiswick 2012 to date


E-09

Brawn Challenge

2012

Relief 2012 to date


Mark III

Built by Delta RIBS, Stockport, Cheshire

No

Name

Built

Base

Notes

E-10

Hearn Medicine Chest

2019

Tower 2019 to date