Tamar class lifeboat

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Tamar class

First built:	2002 (prototype)
Introduced:	2006
Last built:	still in production
Number built:	4 (ongoing) plus prototype
Builder:	DML/Green Marine (build), DML (fit-out)
General Characteristics
Length:	16 m (52.5 ft)
Beam	5m
Draft:	1.35m
Displacement:	31.5 tonnes
Construction:	Fibre Reinforced Composite
Engines:	2 x Caterpillar C18 (1000 hp)
Propulsion:	2 x fixed pitch 5 blade propellers
Speed:	25 knots
Fuel Capacity:	4,600 litres diesel
Range:	250 nautical miles
Endurance:	10 hours at 25 knots
Crew:	7
Capacity:	Self-righting: 40 Non self-righting: 100

Tamar class lifeboats carry out life-saving duties in the UK as part of the RNLI fleet. The Tamar class is the replacement for the Tyne-class slipway launched lifeboat. They are named for the River Tamar, which forms the majority of the border between Devon and Cornwall.

The Tamar is the most advanced vessel in the RNLI fleet. It hosts new technology, including fly-by-wire joystick steering, suspension seats to protect crew in severe weather, and an onboard computer system called Systems and Information Management System or SIMS. SIMS allows complex tasks such as engine and navigation management to be displayed on a single flat LCD screen, six of which are positioned around the vessel, to allow crew to operate all the systems without moving from their seats. The vessel is fitted with infrared and night-vision cameras on top of the mast to search for bodies in the water.

It carries a Y Class (pre-inflated) inflatable daughter boat housed in a pen recessed into the stern of the Tamar, accessed by lowering the transom, and lifting a section of deck. This allows the tender to be launched and recovered on to a ramp provided by the lowered transom section.

The boat completed its trials in July 2005, and the first entered service at Tenby in March 2006, Followed by Peterhead, Scotland receiving the third of the class, 16-03, in April 2006. Padstow received the fourth of the class in July 2006 16-04. Cromer is also set to receive 16-07 in 2007.