Inshore Lifeboat

The Station D Class D-651 is named the 'John William Hirst' and was commissioned at the station on Tuesday 4th October 2005 at 16:00 hrs replacing our previous boat D-504 'Spirit of the RPC'

The naming ceremony took place on 9th April 2006 and was carried out by Debra Searle MBE (of single handed Atlantic rower fame) - see Archive Section.

Length	5 metres (16 ft 5 ins)	Endurance	3 hrs at 25 knots
Beam/Width	2 metres (6 ft 7 ins)	Engine	50 hp Immersion Proofed
Speed	25 knots	Launch	Trolley and Winch
Displacement	338 kg (745 lb) TBA	Structure	Fibre reinforced plastic
Crew	2/3	Boat Fabric	Nylon coated hypalon fabric
Weight	400 kg (880 lbs)	Survivor Capacity	5
The D Class Inshore Lifeboat has been a workhorse of the service for 40 years around the coastline of the UK since 'Blue Peter 1'. The updated IB1 is highly manoeuvrable, making it ideal for rescues close to shore in fair to moderate conditions and performs a significant role in Tor Bay. It has a single 50 hp outboard immersion-proofed engine and can be righted manually by the crew following capsize.