The 41 ft Watson-class was a non-self-righting displacement hull lifeboat built between 1933 and 1951 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1933 and 1982.

History The 41 ft Watson was designed for service at stations which required a larger and more powerful boat than the standard carriage launched types, but which could not accommodate the larger Watson types through boathouse or slipway constraints.

The boat is not to be confused with the earlier 41ft Beach Type Motor lifeboat, which was developed from the lifeboats. Production ran from 1933 to 1939, with thirteen lifeboats completed.

Between 1948 and 1952 a further four boats were built, before the introduction of the much modified lifeboat, which appeared in 1954.

Description The 41 ft Watson had an aft cockpit, with a cabin ahead of it containing the engine controls. There was a separate forward shelter and there was room in the two for sixteen people. The boats carried two sails as an auxiliary to the twin Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines.

The type was put back into production in 1948, nine years after the last had been built, in a revised version with an enlarged cabin which replaced the forward shelter.

From 1963, eight of the boats were re-engined with 47 bhp Ford-based Parsons Porbeagle 4-cylinder diesel engines.

41 ft Watson-class fleet ON Name Built Stations Re-engined Comments758Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn1932 1933–1963 1963Legacy of Mrs Lord, plus collections from Mr Lunn and Mrs Perowne, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,132. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1973.Renamed Dowager. At International Boat-building Training College (IBTC) at Lowestoft, until its closure in Nov 2025. 1963–1973 Relief fleet 769 Duke of York 1933 1934–1961 No Funded from the King George's Fund For Sailors, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £5,636. Sold in 1961.Broken up at Castlebridge, County Wexford, April 2024.806Rachel and Mary Evans1936 1937–1968 NoLegacy of Mr Evans, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,459. Wrecked after breaking moorings on relief duty at 12 April 1969. 1969 807Inbhear Mor1938 1938–1968 1963From RNLI Funds, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,506. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1974.Broken up at Ynyslas Boatyard near Borth, Ceredigion, December 2013. 1968–1973 Relief fleet 808 Mary Ann Hepworth 1938 1938–1974 1963 Gift of Mr A. Hepworth, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,576. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1975.1988, fully restored as a trip boat at Whitby. Sold 2023, at Caernarfon, November 2025.812Edmund and Mary Robinson1938 1938–1950 No.2NoGift of Mrs M. Robinson, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,534. Sold March 1964.Broken up near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, February 2016. 1950–1964 Relief fleet 813 Ann Letitia Russell 1938 1939–1976 1963 Legacy of Miss A. L. Russell, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £6,634. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold April 1977.Renamed Angela, then Olive, used as a yacht/ houseboat at Lowestoft (2014). Was stored at ABP Marine, Fleetwood from 2016 awaiting restoration and intended display as Ann Letitia Russell, but the project failed, and she was broken up, April 2025.823Matthew Simpson1939 1939–1972 1963Legacy of Miss C. F. Simpson, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £7,206. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1976. Renamed Penros. May 2022, unaltered pleasure boat with the Hayling Island Yacht Company, August 2025. 1972–1976 Relief fleet 824 John Pyemont 1939 1939–1941 No Legacy of Mr J. Pyemont, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £7,358. Boathouse and lifeboat destroyed in an air raid, 9 April 1941.856Susan Ashley1948 1948–1972 1963Legacy of Mr C. C. Ashley of Menton, France, built by Groves and Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £13,357. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold 1981.On display at RNLI Heritage Collection at Chatham Historic Dockyard from April 1996. 1973–1979 No.2 1979–1981 Boarding Boat857Glencoe, Glasgow1949 1949–1960 1963Legacy of Miss Lily Glen, built by Morgan Giles of Teignmouth, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £11,885. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1979.Renamed Vagrant. On hard at Burghead Harbour, Moray, February 2026. 1960–1961 1961–1965 Relief fleet 1965–1978 Portavogie858R. L. P.1949 1949–1975 1963Legacy of Mrs A. Pugh, built by Sussex Yacht Co. of Shoreham-by-Sea, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £15,584. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold August 1981.Renamed Beya. Was a workboat at Millport, Great Cumbrae, last reported to have been given to a Sea Cadet group, June 1989. 1975–1981 Relief fleet897St. Andrew1951 1952–1959 Whitehills1963Legacy of Mrs A. Pugh, built by William Osborne of Littlehampton, with twin 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engines, costing £20,700. Re-engined with twin 47-hp Parsons Porbeagle diesel engines, 1963. Sold in 1982.Restored at New Ross Boatyard, County Wexford. October 2023, on display at West Wales Maritime Heritage Centre, Pembroke Dock, September 2025. 1959–1961 Relief fleet 1961–1968 1968–1973 1973–1976 Relief fleet 1976–1977 1977–1982 Relief fleet

See also Watson-class lifeboat Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

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References

External links RNLI