There are two Lifeboats at Sheerness:
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All weather ‘Trent Class’ Lifeboat
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Inshore ‘D-Class’ Lifeboat
Trent Class – George and Ivy Swanson |
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The Trent Class Lifeboat named “George and Ivy Swanson” is 14m in length with a beam of 4.9m and a draught of 1.4m, she is self righting and in the event of a capsize is designed to right in approx 6 seconds.
She is powered by twin MAN D2840 LE 401 diesel engines with a B.H.P of 850 each, has a design speed of twenty five knots and an operational range of 250 nautical miles.
She carries 900 gallons of fuel and uses approx 80 gallons per hour at full speed.
When on service she normally carries a crew of 6 who can be safely seated with seat harnesses in the wheelhouse. In addition she can also carry 10 survivors in the cabin with safety belts.
Some of the equipment carried include: |
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By means of the definition, All weather, there are no weather restrictions on the Lifeboats operation. She covers a vast area from her station at Sheerness, the River Medway and lower reaches of the River Thames out into the Thames Estuary.
She lies afloat on an alongside berth within Sheerness Docks.
IB1 D-Class D-799 “Buster” |
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Delta Class IB1 D-799 “Buster” is the inshore Lifeboat at Sheerness. In length she is 4.95 metres long with a beam of 2 metres and draught of0.5 metres.
Her displacement is 338kg. Powered by 50 H.P Mariner engine and giving a top speed of 25 knots with 3 hours endurance, she carries 68 litres of fuel and has a crew of two or three. Crew wear “dry duits”, lifejackets and protective headgear at all times when afloat. The ILB is kept on a trolley in the boathouse and transported to the launch site by quad bike where it is launched by a davit into the lower camber basin.
Some of the equipment carried include: |
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By means of the definition ‘inshore Lifeboat’ it is ideally suited for the work around the Sheppey coast and in the River Medway, where there are many creeks and inlets.