History repeats itself........ Twenty Four years ago a remote control model of the then Appledore RNLI all-weather Tyne class lifeboat George Gibson was made by a local model boat enthusiast and it can be seen here launched by the then Coxswain Des Cox, who was coxswain from 1970 – 1994 . At the beginning of the normal Tuesday lifeboat training evening this week (9/9/2014) history repeated itself with our current Coxswain Martin Cox, son of the previous Coxswain Des Cox, launching a remote control model of the current Appledore RNLI Tamar class all-weather lifeboat Mollie Hunt which has also been made by a local model boat enthusiast. Martin Cox has been coxswain since 2005 David Hunter, secretary of Kenwith Castle model boat club has built many model boats during his life, boats of all types and all sizes. His latest model, Mollie Hunt, is a 1:16 remote control replica of Appledore’s Tamar Class Mollie Hunt. The basic boat construction was made from a Model Slipway kit. However over ten months David worked very closely on the fine detail with both the Appledore RNLI Coxswain Martin Cox and the Mechanic Owen Atkinson, to develop the perfect scale model. The model Mollie Hunt was first on public display at the Appledore RNLI MAYDAY model boat show in May and again at the recent Morrison’s two day bucket collection at East the Water in August which raised in excess of £1000. Mollie Hunt arrived at Appledore on 22nd March 2010. With a crew of seven she is 16.3m in length, has a beam of 5.3m and a draft of 1.4m. With a maximum speed of 25 knots and a fuel capacity of 4,600 litres she has a range of 250 nautical miles. Her hull is made from fibre-reinforced composite with single-skin section below the chine and 100mm thick foam-cored sandwich above, whilst her deck and superstructure are made from 25mm foam-cored sandwich. She has two Caterpillar C18 marine diesel engines, each producing 1,001hp at 2,300rpm. She has a survivor capacity for up to 118 casualties. The integrated electronic Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) offers the crew the ability to monitor, operate and control many of the boat’s systems directly from the safety of their shock-mitigating seats. This includes all communications (VHF, MF, DF, and intercom), navigation (radar, chart, DGPS, depth and speed) and machinery monitoring including engines, transmission, fuel and bilge. In addition to her twin engines, the lifeboat is fitted with a hydraulic-powered bow thruster for improved manoeuvrability. The Tamar carries a Y boat, an inflatable powered daughter boat with 15hp outboard engine housed under the aft deck, which can be deployed from a hinged door in the transom to access areas the lifeboat cannot reach. Comprehensive first aid equipment includes stretchers, oxygen and Entonox and other equipment includes a portable salvage pump carried in a watertight container.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 11:59:30 +0000
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