How to build a Shannon class lifeboat

Step two: Composite build 2

Duration: 12 weeks

With the structures of the hull and wheelhouse complete, the next step is to install the lifeboat’s composite furniture. ‘That’s things like fan casings, stowages (like cupboards), and vent boxes in the engine room,’ explains Daniel.

At this stage, the hull and the wheelhouse are still separate, but the team temporarily put the hull and deck joints together to make sure they’ll be a perfect fit – this is called dry fitting. ‘We use non-stick tape for this, so the resin doesn’t stick,’ says Daniel. ‘If we joined the hull and wheelhouse together permanently at this stage, it would be hard to get people in and out for the rest of the build.’

Next, around 1,500 fibreglass pads and fixings are accurately positioned and glued onto the surfaces of the structure so that more components, like the two 650hp Scania engines, pipework and electrical boxes, can be fitted once the boat is painted. ‘The pads and fixings mean we can assemble everything like flatpack furniture after painting,’ says Daniel. ‘No drilling holes, no gluing.’

There’s more to fit during this stage too, such as the twin Hamilton waterjets, each with a movable nozzle to provide steering and a bucket assembly to give the boat reverse thrust. The Shannon is our only all-weather lifeboat to be powered by waterjets rather than traditional propellers. Waterjets allow the lifeboat to operate in shallow waters and to be intentionally beached if needed, and they make the boat more agile and manoeuvrable.

Boatbuilders will also fit the main keel shoe (a 10mm thick section of metal that goes on the hull for protection), side keels (fin-like additions which help to stabilise the boat) and spray rails (which are added to the side of the hull to redirect sea spray).

Step three: Painting

Duration: 7 weeks

During this stage, the hull and wheelhouse are painted inside and out. The wheelhouse interior is painted matte black to reduce reflections at night and the hull bottom is painted with an abrasion-resistant ice-breaker paint to prevent hull wear during beach recoveries, with antifoul over the top. Daniel explains: ‘Antifoul is a special type of paint that prevents marine organisms from growing on the hull. You’ll quickly see a lot of seaweed and barnacles otherwise! The paint is self-eroding, so when the marine organisms try to bond to it, it sheds.’

Step four: Fit out 1

Duration: 12 weeks

Next, the components mentioned in step two are fitted to the hull and wheelhouse, using the fibreglass pads and fittings. ‘The aim is to complete as much of the fit out as possible while the hull and wheelhouse are still separate,’ Daniel says.

All the hull cables are installed and made ready to be fitted. A collapsible mast is also fitted to the wheelhouse, and capstans and bollards are fitted on the deck. ‘A bollard is a metal pole with two horns stuck on to secure ropes for towing,’ says Daniel. ‘A capstan is similar but motorised – it has a winch on top that spins around to pull the ropes in.’

Step five: Fit out 2

Duration: 12 weeks

This is the final build stage before the lifeboat is trialled. First, the wheelhouse is glued to the hull to create the hull-to-deck joint. The deck then has fendering (big rubber bumpers), stanchions (vertical poles which hold up the guardwires on the perimeter of the boat to stop people falling overboard) and cleats (deck hardware you tie ropes to) fitted. We install windows and add decals (the large letters/numbers on the boat).

The wheelhouse electronic cables are also fitted, with cables going in and coming up from the hull. ‘The hull and wheelhouse are connected as a system, so it all works as one boat,’ says Daniel.

Finally, the seats are installed – and the boat is powered on. ‘We then start commissioning, which means testing the systems are all working,’ says Daniel. ‘Then it’s out of the factory, and on to trials.’

Step six: Launch and trials 

Duration: 7 weeks

The Shannon is moved from the lifeboat factory. ‘Then it’s launched with a small ceremony to celebrate it getting wet for the first time, ahead of 50 years of service,’ says Daniel. The two Scania Power Solutions engines are fired up.

Then the lifeboat begins its harbour acceptance trials and sea trials. ‘We call these HATs and SATs,’ says Daniel. ‘The harbour acceptance trials take place with the Shannon sitting alongside in the harbour – the boat doesn’t go anywhere. You don’t want to go out to sea and realise you lifeboat can’t steer.’ These trials include an inclining experiment to check the stability of the boat and to ensure the boat could self-right if needed, and a hose test to check for leaks.

Next, the Shannon moves out from the harbour and onto its sea trials. ‘In week 5 of this 7-week process, the Operations Proving Team take the boat for a week to test it thoroughly and ensure the boat is operating correctly,’ says Daniel. ‘Once this is complete, the boat is officially accepted and signed into the fleet.’

What happens next?

Now it’s time for the crew to collect their boat. They usually stay at the RNLI College in Poole for training and to get to know their new Shannon class lifeboat. They might sail the boat back to their station as part of their training too. ‘If the station is very far away, the lifeboat might be driven by road halfway and then sailed the rest of the way home,’ says Daniel.

The crew – and their Shannon – arrive to an emotional welcome from volunteers and the local community. They’ll continue their training at the station to make sure everyone is competent on the boat. Once the training is complete, the boat will be declared on service and the naming ceremony will take place. This is a proud day of celebration, with songs and speeches, and marks a new chapter for lifesaving at the station.