Back in December 2021, Diverse Marine Ltd. and Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service Ltd. announced that the two parties had signed a new vessel construction agreement for a first of class 14m Medina Class Lifeboat.
Caister CVLS 45-01
Following a very successful self-righting trial in early April, Paul Garrod, chairman of Caister Lifeboat said: “The capsize test went very well and she’s looking good. The next step will be finishing her off – completing the interior, and we hope to start sea trials with her over the next few weeks. We’re looking forward to bringing her home sometime mid‑summer.”
Using a design from Walker Marine Design, the construction of the vessel at Cowes on the Isle of Wight completes the evolutionary process that saw the original Medina Class Lifeboat built very close to the current build location over 35 years ago – before the design was adopted by the Dutch who built the station's current Lifeboat, ‘Bernard Matthews II’ 17 years ago.
The 14m self-righting Lifeboat features an aluminium hull, deck and coach roof together with a resiliently mounted GRP wheelhouse to reduce noise and vibration for the crew. The fully air-conditioned wheelhouse layout has been designed for up to six crew, all with designated AllSalt Maritime SHOXS 2000 seats. Configuration is for a central helm station forward, nav station aft to stbd and an additional dedicated space for stretcher and casualties.
Twin Scania DI13-077M main propulsion engines drive twin Hamilton HJ364 water jet units for speeds in excess of 35 knots. Twin helm stations feature Hamilton Jet’s AVX control system and Jet-Anchor functionality for station keeping. A comprehensive navigation and communications suite has been supplied by Boat Electrics and Electronics Ltd.
Ben Colman, Director of Diverse Marine says: “With the first sea trials now underway, the boat performed well above expectations, achieving one knot over the contract speed, reaching 37 kts. She was super quiet, very manoeuvrable and trimmed to perfection. We are looking forward to fine tuning her over the next couple of weeks prior to handover to Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service in June.”
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