Lifeboat ‘Kenneth James Pierpoint’ (2016 +)
The Shannon class all-weather lifeboat arrived on station at Fleetwood in June 2016 and at a service of dedication on 23rd June at Fleetwood Marina was named Kenneth James Pierpoint. The lifeboat was named in honour of a young RAF pilot who died during World War II.
As a strategic response by the R.N.L.I. to increasing its range of coverage to 100 miles from the coast the speed of the Shannon class has been increased to 25 knots. Formerly, a life-boat’s hull had a usable life expectancy of twenty five years, beyond which a lifeboat would normally be retired into the reserve fleet or sold out of service. The construction of the Shannon lifeboat’s hull is of carbon composite and the life expectancy is doubled to fifty years. With this new type of lifeboat on station at Fleetwood who knows what rescues will be performed over this extended lifetime of this vessel?
The Shannon Class of lifeboats were designed by the R.N.L.I. and introduced into their fleet in 2013. The identification number of Fleetwood’s new lifeboat named Kenneth James Pierpoint is 13-14. Thirteen indicates the length in metres and 14 means the fourteenth lifeboat of this class. This lifeboat is 13.6 metres long, with 4.5 metres beam and of shallow draught, needing just 1 metre of water to remain afloat. It is self-righting with a displacement weight of 18 tonnes and carries 6 crew securely strapped into sprung seats to reduce the shock and impact of heavy seas. The operational speed is 25 knots and its range and endurance is 250 nautical miles. Powered by twin 13 litre Scania D13 650 horse power diesel engines there are no propellers and the engine thrust drives twin Hamilton HJ364 waterjets that provide propulsion and manoeuvrability.
The hull, deck and wheelhouse are constructed from a composite of materials, mainly glass-fibres woven into cloth before infusion in an epoxy resin glass layered sandwich construct, with carbon-fibre strengthening in areas of high load. Shannon lifeboat 13-014 is the first to be wholly fitted out at the R.N.L.I’s All-weather Lifeboat Construction centre at their headquarters in Poole.
An elevated upper steering position aft of the main cabin gives all-round open aired viewing and a separate steering position is below in the air-conditioned main cabin. This lifeboat does not have a conventional steering wheel in the main cabin and the boat’s direction is controlled by a ‘joystick’. Another feature of this lifeboat is the innovative Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) that is an electronic integrated bridge system that allows the coxswain and crew to monitor, operate and control the navigation, communication, radar and engine/hull control system functions from the safety of their seats. The SIMS systems are similar computers to those fitted in military aircraft and the processor units are duplicated to withstand a malfunction or failure, giving improved resilience. The system was introduced in the current Tamar class all-weather lifeboats and has been further developed and improved for the Shannon. Crew members are already familiar with the operation of SIMS as the D-class Inshore Lifeboat has a scaled down version of SIMS, with similar screen layouts and functions. Training has been given to all crew to ensure they are competent in operation of the system.
Record of Service ‘Kenneth James Pierpoint’
Fleetwood Lifeboats Past 