Barnett-class lifeboat

RNLB William and Kate Johnston (ON 682)
Class overview
Builders	J Samuel White, Cowes S. E. Saunders, Cowes Saunders-Roe, Cowes Groves & Guttridge, Cowes Rowhedge Ironworks, Rowhedge
Operators	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Built	60 ft: 1923–1929 51 ft: 1928–1949 52 ft Mk. I: 1950–1955 52 ft Mk. II: 1957–1960
In service	1923–1987
Completed	60 ft: 4 51 ft: 13 52 ft Mk. I: 10 52 ft Mk. II: 10
Retired	37
General characteristics
Type	Motor lifeboat
Displacement	60 ft: 40–44 tons 51 ft: 27 tons 52 ft: 28 tons
Length	51–60 ft (16–18 m)
Beam	60 ft: 15 ft (4.6 m) 51 ft: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) 52 ft Mk. I: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) 52 ft Mk. II: 14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power	60 ft:2 x 80 bhp D.E. 6-cyl. petrol 51 ft: 2 x 60 bhp Weyburn CE6 6-cyl. petrol 52 ft Mk. I: 2 x 60 bhp Ferry VE6 6-cyl. diesel 52 ft Mk. II: 2 x 72 bhp Gardner 6LW 6cyl. diesel
Propulsion	2 × pitch propellers in tunnels
Speed	9.5 knots (10.9 mph; 17.6 km/h)
Range	300 nautical miles (350 mi; 560 km)
Crew	6

The Barnett-class lifeboat consists of three types of non self-righting displacement hull lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) from its stations around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1923 and 1987.

60-foot Barnett

History

The 60 ft (18.3 m) Barnett was the first twin-engined, twin-screw RNLI lifeboat, and when introduced in 1923, the largest. Designed by RNLI naval architect James Rennie Barnett, the boats pioneered many features which were to become standard on future lifeboats. They were, however too large to be slipway launched and had to be moored afloat at a time when the RNLI preferred to keep lifeboats in boathouses and consequently, only four were built.

Description

The boats had an open aft cockpit with a shelter ahead of it. The engines were in separate watertight engines rooms with exhaust taken up two side by side funnels amidships. There were fore and aft survivor cabins below deck. The boats were powered by two RNLI designed 80 bhp DE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, three built by Weyburn Engineering and the other by J. Samuel White. The final boat was 61 ft (18.6 m) long due to a forward raked bow. The boats served their stations well until the early fifties when they were replaced by 52-foot Barnetts.

Fleet

ON [a]	Name	Built	Builder	In service [1]	Station	Comments [2]
682	William and Kate Johnston	1923	J. Samuel White	1923–1950	New Brighton	Sold December 1950. Reported in August 2022 to be a pleasure boat at Dover Marina.
693	Emma Constance	1926	S. E. Saunders	1926–1951	Aberdeen No.1	Sold November 1951. Renamed Griselda. By December 2021 was an open hull aground at Keils House, Tayvallich, Argyll.
696	Robert & Marcella Beck	1926	J. Samuel White	1926–1943	Plymouth	Sold June 1952. Renamed Blaskbeg Idle Hours. Reported in May 2008 as being a pleasure boat on the River Elbe in Hamburg.
				1943–1947	Iceland (RN)
				1947–1952	Plymouth
715	Princess Mary	1929	S. E. Saunders	1929–1952	Padstow (Harbour)	Sold June 1952. Renamed Aries. Reported in October 2022 to be a yacht at Ibiza.

51-foot Barnett

History

The 60-foot Barnett was too large and heavy to be slipway launched and so the 51 ft (15.5 m) type was designed as a scaled down version which would be able to be stationed at a greater number of locations. The class is sometimes referred to as the "Stromness" after the first station to receive one.

Description

Mary Stanford (ON 733)

The 51-foot Barnett had an open aft cockpit with a shelter ahead of it giving access to the engine room. Ahead of the engine room was a survivor cabin and there was a forward shelter ahead of the mast. The class was powered by two 60 bhp Weyburn CE6 6-cylinder petrol engines with a single exhaust funnel ahead of the aft shelter.

The final boat of the class, RNLB Southern Africa (ON 860), was built in 1949, fourteen years after the end of regular production, and was more akin in deck layout to the first five 46ft 9in Watson-class boats built around the same time. This boat was powered by two 60 bhp Ferry VE6 6-cylinder diesels and was in effect a prototype for a post war production run of diesel powered boats. However, it was overtaken by events as James Barnett turned to midships cockpits and the new boats emerged as the 52 ft [15.8 m] class the following year. The only other 51-foot Watson to receive diesel engines was Peter and Sarah Blake (ON 755) which was re-engined with twin Ford based 65 bhp Parsons Barracuda diesels in 1965. In 1976, Southern Africa (ON 860) also received Barracudas while serving in the relief fleet and this boat was the final member of the class in service when retired in 1981.

Fleet

ON [a]	Name	Built	Builder	In service [3]	Station	Comments [3]
702	J.J.K.S.W.	1928	S. E. Saunders	1928–1955	Stromness	Sold 1965. Became a workboat named Jon Dee BS19. Broken up August 2000.
				1955–1964	Reserve fleet
717	A.E.D.	1929	J. Samuel White	1929–1950	Holyhead	Sold 1957. By February 1992 it was working as a pleasure boat at Fuengirola, Spain.
				1951–1957	Valentia
718	William and Harriot	1929	J. Samuel White	1929–1954	Stornoway	Sold 1959. Broken up at Barry Docks in 1978.
				1954–1959	Reserve fleet
719	Queen Victoria	1929	J. Samuel White	1929–1940	St Peter Port	Sold May 1958. Destroyed by a fire on the River Hamble in 1978.
				1940–1941	Reserve fleet
				1941–1945	Killybegs
				1945–1954	St Peter Port
				1954–1958	Reserve fleet
720	City of Glasgow	1929	J. Samuel White	1929–1953	Campbeltown	Sold 1959. Last reported as yacht at Barry Docks but destroyed in the 1970s.
				1953–1959	Reserve fleet
731	Lady Jane & Martha Ryland	1930	J. Samuel White	1930–1958	Lerwick	Sold 1969. Renamed The Lady Jane. Reported in March 2022 to be at the Old Mill Boatyard, Dartmouth, Devon.
				1958–1969	Reserve
733	Mary Stanford	1930	Saunders-Roe	1930–1959	Ballycotton	Sold 1969. By December 2022 it was restored and on display, at Cliff Walk, Ballycotton, Ireland.
				1959–1968	Reserve fleet
734	George Shee	1930	Saunders-Roe	1930–1958	Torbay	Sold December 1958. Used as a lifeboat in Guatemala from 1959.
				1958	Reserve fleet
735	William and Clara Ryland	1930	Saunders-Roe	1930–1957	Weymouth	Sold 1958. In December 2020 it was a houseboat at Hundred of Hoo Sailing Club, Hoo Peninsula, but in December 2023 it was reported as sunk at its mooring.
754	Lloyds	1932	Groves & Guttridge	1932–1957	Barra Island	Sold January 1970. In June 2022 it was at Sandwich Marina in Kent.
				1957–1969	Reserve fleet
755	Peter and Sarah Blake	1932	J. Samuel White	1932–1958	Fenit (Tralee Bay)	Sold October 1972. In May 2022 it was undergoing restoration at Fox's Marina, Ipswich.
				1958–1972	Reserve fleet
776	The Rankin	1935	Groves & Guttridge	1935–1961	Aith	Sold 1970. Renamed Perseverance. Reported in November 2022 to be working as a pleasure boat at Tipner Boating and Angling Club, Portsmouth.
				1961–1969	Reserve fleet
860	Southern Africa	1949	Rowhedge Ironworks	1949–1967	Dover	Sold July 1981. Reported in June 2022 as being used as a pleasure boat at the Clyde Boatyard, Glasgow.
				1967–1981	Reserve fleet

52-foot Barnett (Mk. I)

ON [a]	Name	Built	Builder	In service [4]	Station	Comments [4]
883	Norman B Corlett	1950	J. Samuel White	1950–1973	New Brighton	Sold February 1982. Reported in December 2019 to be a houseboat for holiday letting at Coalisland, Northern Ireland.
				1973–1981	Relief fleet
884	St.Cybi (Civil Service No. 9)	1950	J. Samuel White	1950–1980	Holyhead	Sold 1986. On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard since April 1996. [5]
				1980–1986	Relief fleet
889	Hilton Briggs	1951	J. Samuel White	1951–1958	Aberdeen No.1	Sold July 1976. Reported in December 2022 as being lived on at Wapping Wharf, Bristol.
				1959–1969	Fenit (Tralee Bay)
				1969–1970	Reserve fleet
				1970	Longhope
				1970–1974	Reserve fleet
				1974–1975	Invergordon
890	Thomas Forehead & Mary Rowse	1952	J. Samuel White	1952–1974	Plymouth	Sold December 1982. Renamed Isle Ornsay. In December 2021 it was undergoing a refit at Port Penrhyn, Bangor.
				1974–1982	Relief fleet
898	Joseph Hiram Chadwick	1952	J. Samuel White	1952–1967	Padstow (Harbour)	Sold April 1980. Reported in July 2022 to undergoing restoration at Goodchild Marine, Burgh Castle. Sold in May 2024 after being abandoned by previous owner at Goodchild Marine, currently being transported by the new owner to Sharpness Shipyard to undertake a thorough restoration.
				1968–1977	Galway Bay
				1977–1980	Relief fleet
899	City of Glasgow II	1953	J. Samuel White	1953–1979	Campbeltown	Sold April 1980. Reported in April 2021 as being at Titchmarsh Marina, Walton-on-the-Naze.
912	Euphrosyne Kendal	1954	J. Samuel White	1954–1972	St Peter Port	Sold May 1983. Engines removed and broken up at Rushbrooke, County Cork, Ireland by 2015.
				1973–1975	Dunmore East
				1975–1983	Relief fleet
913	James & Margaret Boyd	1954	J. Samuel White	1954–1973	Stornoway	Sold January 1985. Renamed Sea Terror and a houseboat. Sunk at English Harbour, Antigua, on 10 December 2010.
				1974–1975	Macduff
				1975–1984	Invergordon
923	John Gellatly Hyndman	1955	J. Samuel White	1955–1972	Stronsay	Sold August 1985. Renamed Sea Terra. Reported to be operated as a pleasure boat at English Harbour, Antigua, in September 2022.
				1972–1985	Relief fleet
924	Archibald and Alexander M Paterson	1955	J. Samuel White	1955–1984	Stromness	Sold May 1989. Reported in August 2021 to have been restored for use as a pleasure boat at Lawrenny Quay on the River Cleddau estuary in Wales.
				1985–1986	Arranmore
				1986–1987	Lowestoft

52-foot Barnett (Mk. II)

ON [a]	Name	Built	Builder	In service [6]	Station	Comments [6]
935	R.A.Colby Cubbin No.3	1957	J. Samuel White	1957–1984	Barra Island	Sold November 1984. By June 2013 was a houseboat at City Marina, Rotterdam.
936	E.M.M. Gordon Cubbin	1957	J. Samuel White	1957–1982	Mallaig	Sold 1985. Renamed Gordon Cubbin. Reported in March 2022 to be moored by the Tees Transporter Bridge.
				1982–1985	Relief fleet
938	Rowland Watts	1957	Groves & Guttridge	1957–1983	Valentia	Sold 1985. By June 2020 was stored at Murphy Marine, Valentia Island, Ireland.
				1983–1985	Relief fleet
939	Frank Spiller Locke	1957	Groves & Guttridge	1957–1976	Weymouth	Sold October 1986. It is unaltered but used as a pleasure boat from Old Mill Boatyard, Old Mill Creek, Dartmouth, Devon.
				1977–1985	Galway Bay
943	Claude Cecil Staniforth	1958	Groves & Guttridge	1958–1978	Lerwick	Sold November 1985. Renamed Naomh Seosamh. Reported in December 2022 to be a pleasure boat at New Ross Boatyard, Wexford, Ireland.
				1978–1985	Arranmore
944	Ramsay Dyce	1958	Groves & Guttridge	1958–1976	Aberdeen	Sold August 1985. . Reported in August 2022 to be working as a pleasure boat but unaltered at Glasson Dock in Lancashire.
				1976–1978	Relief fleet
				1978–1985	Lochinver
945	Princess Alexandra of Kent	1958	J. Samuel White	1958–1975	Torbay	Sold 1984. Renamed Princess but lost on 1 August 2012 off Crail in Scotland while on passage to Peterhead.
				1975–1978	Relief fleet
				1979–1980	Tynemouth
				1980–1983	Relief fleet
949	Ethel Mary	1959	Groves & Guttridge	1959–1985	Ballycotton	Last Barnett Class boat on station. Sold 1989. In December 2021 it was reported to be undergoing a survey at Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
				1985–1987	Relief fleet
				1987–1988	Baltimore
952	Duke of Cornwall (Civil Service No. 33)	1960	Groves & Guttridge	1961–1984	The Lizard	Sold 1989. Reported in December 2021 to be in unaltered condition but used as a pleasure boat at Old Mill Creek, Dartmouth, Devon.
				1984	Padstow
				1984–1989	Relief fleet
956	John and Frances MacFarlane	1960	J. Samuel White	1961–1986	Aith	Sold October 1986. Reported in September 2024 to be in unaltered condition but in use as a pleasure boat at Maldon, Essex.

1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

References

1. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 44.
2. Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 44.
3. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 44–52.
4. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 52–54.
5. "St Cybi (Civil Service No.9)". National Historic Ships. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
6. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 54–56.

External links

• RNLI
• ON943 RNLB Claude Cecil Staniforth