RNLI history 'then and now'.

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00:00In over 200 years of RNLI life-saving, a lot has changed, including our lifeboats.

00:06From the rowing and sailing lifeboats of our early days, to the water jet-driven

00:10vessels of today. Let's take a closer look at how far we've come.

00:21Over 40 different classes of RNLI lifeboat have been designed and built

00:26over the years, but the first purpose-built lifeboat came before the

00:30RNLI. Called the original, it was constructed by Henry Greathead in 1789

00:36and launched in 1790. Powered by 10 oars, it could carry 20 people, including a

00:44lifeboat crew of 12. These days the RNLI have a team of in-house naval

00:49architects and engineers. Building on the RNLI's 200 years of life-saving

00:55knowledge and experience, they designed the newest class of lifeboat, the Shannon.

00:59Harnessing cutting-edge technology, Shannon class lifeboats are very agile,

01:04manoeuvrable, and have a top speed of 25 knots. They have a specially designed hull

01:09and shock-absorbing seats to protect the crew in stormy seas. Crew safety is a

01:15very important factor in lifeboat design. In fact, one of the first improvements

01:20that was made to our earliest lifeboats was the ability to self-right. So if it

01:24capsized at sea, the lifeboat could turn itself back upright. In 1851, the Duke of

01:30Northumberland held a competition for the best lifeboat design. Out of 280

01:35entries, James Beechin's design won. It's the first true efficient self-righting

01:40lifeboat, but the RNLI committee felt that it could be improved. So in 1854, a

01:46new design was drawn up and built by James Peake. It was known as the

01:50self-righter type. It could self-right within five seconds of being capsized,

01:54thanks to its heavy keel, cork ballast, and draining tubes. More self-righter

01:59type lifeboats were then built. They had similar design characteristics, but

02:03varied in size. All of the all-weather lifeboats in the RNLI fleet today are

02:09designed to be inherently self-righting. This is achieved by having their large,

02:13heavy items as low down in a boat as possible, and a wheelhouse that is light,

02:18strong, watertight, and full of air. Another feature of two of our modern

02:24lifeboats is water jets. The Shannon class and the E-class are both propelled

02:28by water jets instead of traditional propellers. The E-class was designed

02:33especially for saving lives on the River Thames in London, and its water jets give

02:37it excellent manoeuvrability, precision, and control. But the E-class wasn't the

02:42first RNLI lifeboat to be propelled by water jets. Back in 1890, six steam-driven

02:48lifeboats went into service. Three of them were hydraulic steam-driven

02:52lifeboats and had water jets instead of propellers. Between them, these three

02:56lifeboats saved 570 lives. But they were slow, heavy, and expensive to build and

03:02maintain. Their development was soon abandoned, with the focus turned into

03:06petrol power. The first motor lifeboat entered service in 1905 with a single

03:11petrol engine and propeller. Petrol power gave the lifeboat crews extra power and

03:16control and gradually replaced the pulling and sailing boats. It also meant

03:20that lifeboat volunteers no longer needed a professional maritime

03:23background, so it opened the door for lots more people to volunteer and join

03:27the crew, just like they can today.

03:31Today, the 7-class is the largest lifeboat in the RNLI fleet. 7-class

03:36lifeboats are each powered by two 1,600 horsepower diesel engines. All-weather

03:42lifeboats, like the 7 and Shannon, are designed for offshore rescues in the

03:46worst conditions. But inshore lifeboats are a crucial part of the fleet too. They

03:51were first introduced to our fleet in the 1960s. Lots of people had started

03:56using the sea for leisure purposes, dinghy sailing, diving, and inflatable

04:01airbeds. The number of call-outs for lifeboat volunteers increased

04:05dramatically as more people were getting into difficulty. But the large, heavy

04:10lifeboats of the time just weren't designed for quick rescues in shallow,

04:13rocky waters. A simple, high-speed craft was desperately needed. After lots of

04:19research, hard work, and trials by Lieutenant David Stogdon and Captain

04:23Tony Wicksteed, enter the D-class, the first inflatable lifeboat. The early

04:30models were lightweight and had a top speed of 20 knots. From there, more

04:35inshore lifeboat models were developed, including the B-class, the RNLI's first

04:39rigid, inflatable lifeboat. Today, the D-class lifeboat is known as the workhorse

04:45of the RNLI and can be found at just under half of all of our 238 lifeboat

04:50stations. They have a top speed of 25 knots and are perfect for rescues close

04:54to the shore. And our B-class lifeboats are the busiest on the coast. Powered by

05:01their 215 horsepower four-stroke engines, they have a top speed of 35 knots. Our

05:08lifeboats have come a long way in the past 200 years. A lot has changed, but

05:13they all share the same purpose. Powered by kind donations, operated by selfless

05:19lifeboat volunteers, they are designed, made, and launched to save lives.

05:38you

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