X, XP & Y Class Lifeboats
X, XP & Y Class Lifeboats
Hoylake X168 which is carried on the station's Shannon class lifeboat. Photo: RNLI/Hoylake
X Class Lifeboat
X Class Lifeboat
The X Class lifeboat is a class of small inflatable boat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
X Class lifeboats are an unpowered tender that was normally found carried on board Tyne Class lifeboats, and is a station option on Mersey and Shannon lifeboats.
XP-34 on a training exercise at Arklow. Photo Pat Nolan
XP Class Lifeboats
XP Class Lifeboats
The XP class lifeboat is a class of small inflatable boat operated by the RNLI of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The XP-class lifeboat, based on the commercially available Avon Rover 280 is mainly used as a small tender carried on board the RNLI All-Weather lifeboats.
The XP-class carries a crew of one or two, and is normally found carried on board the Trent class lifeboat. It is used primarily for assisting in cliff incidents where the casualty is near the water, and where rocks prevent the All-Weather Lifeboat from getting near the base of the cliff.
The XP along with a D-class (IB1) was also in use at South Broads Lifeboat Station on The Broads in Suffolk, one of the few RNLI inland waterways lifeboat stations until it closed in 2011, and at Teignmouth Lifeboat Station in Devon, where it is deployed from the larger B-class (Atlantic 85) lifeboat.
Tamar Class Lifeboat with Y-Class Showing Photo: Robert Kilpin
Y Class Lifeboats
Y Class Lifeboats
The Y Class lifeboat is a class of small inflatable boat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Y-class is mainly used as a small tender carried on board the larger RNLI All-Weather lifeboats that serve the shores of the UK, and is normally found on the Severn-class and Tamar-class lifeboats, the Arun-class having been retired. They are also used as part of the RNLI's Flood Rescue Team.
When in use, it carries up to a crew of two and is primarily used in cliff incidents where the casualty is near the shore and the all-weather lifeboat cannot safely get to the base of the cliffs due to rocks.
Within the stern section of the Tamar-class lifeboat is a built-in, recessed chamber which houses the small inflatable Y-class lifeboat. Access to this inflatable tender is achieved by lifting a section of deck and lowering a transom which doubles as a ramp. This allows the tender to be easily launched and recovered.