Name B-536 Laid down 1976 Draft 81 cm | Official Number B-536 Weight 1.4 tons | |
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Builder Inshore Lifeboat Centre, Cowes Stations Peel, Isle of Man
Sheringham, Norfolk | ||
The Inshore Lifeboat B-536 was an Atlantic 21 rigid-inflatable inshore lifeboat on station at the English coastal town of Sheringham in the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom. The ILB replaced the all-weather lifeboat RNLB Lloyds II (ON 986) on the 18 April 1992.
Contents
Description
The B-536 was launched from a supplied trolley which was towed from the boathouse by a tractor. The boat was 7.21 m (23.7 ft) in length and she had a beam of 2.49 m (8.2 ft), and a draught of 0.81 m (2.7 ft). She was powered through the water by twin 2-stroke outboard engines, of 70 hp (52 kW) each. Her equipment included two VHF radios, First Aid Kit & oxygen, GPS navigation system, night vision equipment, self-righting system, anchor and various warps, toolkit, towing system, illuminating and distress pyrotechnics, spotlight, torches. The rollbar assembly installed above the engines contains a self-righting bag which was operated by a member of the crew activating a gas bottle.
New Era
The replacement of RNLB Lloyds II (ON 986) all-weather lifeboat marked a new era and operating scope for the Sheringham Lifeboat Station. The RNLI considered that at this time the North Norfolk coastline now had excellent coverage by all-weather lifeboats which included a Mersey-class lifeboat at Wells-next-the-Sea, and a Tyne-class lifeboat to the east at the Cromer. Although there was some sadness and apprehension from the town at the loss of its all-weather lifeboat, fears were allayed by the promise of a new state of the art Atlantic 75-class lifeboat for the station in the near future. In the meantime the station was allocated the Atlantic 21 B-536, a boat which had been built in 1976 and had been stationed at Peel on the Isle of Man. The crew found that the B-536 was four times faster than her predecessor and was much easier and faster to launch. She also had the capacity to work in shallower waters and would make a large contribution and improvement to the rescue cover along the North Norfolk coastline.
Service
B-536 was called to service 19 times during her short stay on the station. her first service took place on June 18, 1992 when she launched to assist the fishing boat Charles Mark which she escorted safely back to Sheringham beach. During 1993 the lifeboat was kept very busy being launched to service a total of 11 times.
Lions International (B-539)
In September 1993 B-536 was relieved from Sheringham and her place was taken by another Atlantic 21,RNLB Lions International (B-539). This boat stayed at Sheringham until 5 January 1994 when the new Atlantic 75 arrived.