RNLB The Oddfellows (B-818) is the current rigid-inflatable inshore lifeboat on station at the English coastal town of Sheringham in the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom.
State-of-the-art inshore lifeboat
The Oddfellows arrived on station 11 July 2007 to replace . This latest version of the Atlantic 85 class had been in development by the RNLI since 2004. This lifeboat at the time of its arrival in Sheringham was the most modern state-of-the-art class of inshore lifeboat in the RNLI fleet. The new lifeboat was funded by the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows, from which the lifeboat once again took her name. The organization also provided £68,000 for a new drive-on, drive-off launch and recovery carriage required for this larger boat. This new apparatus had a number of improved features such as illumination, and an enhanced hydraulic lifting device which, during rough seas, can be raised to an appropriate height enabling the boat to launch from the slipway at hightide without the bow being angled into the water. A wing-tank on either side of the trailer supplies each outboard engine with enough water to allow the engines to be started and warmed up on the slipway before launching.
Design
The Oddfellows is long and has a beam of and with the engine raised a draught of just . The propulsion is provided by two Yamaha inversion-proof four-stroke petrol engines. The motors are capable of pushing the lifeboat through the water at speeds in excess of . The lifeboat is launched with a crew of four aboard and uses a Do-Do (drive on - drive off) trolley pushed directly into the sea by a Talus MB-4H amphibious tractor via the station slipway.
Hull
The state-of-the-art carbon fibre hull structure has a foam core laminate that minimises the internal structure and helps the hull maintain its overall stiffness, and has very good impact absorption and recovers its shape after high impact loads which occur when the lifeboat rides through the waves at high speeds. The carbon fibre is impervious to attack by marine organisms and easily moulded into the complex shape needed to form the deep 'V' shape at the bow. The shape then falls away to a flat run to aft of the hull. This deep 'V' bow shape gives the boat excellent directional stability when underway and the flat run assists in getting the boat up on the plane quickly and on the occasions that the boat needs to be beached enables the lifeboat to sit upright.
Ballast
Located in the bow, water-filled ballast tanks provide the lifeboat with more stability and can be filled and emptied manually while at sea. This is achieved by use of a handle located near the helmsman which lowers a scoop to fill the tanks while the boat is underway. There are two fuel tanks, which are embedded in polystyrene, located on the port and starboard sides of the hull. The tanks can fuel each engine independently or one tank can fuel both engines if needed. The Oddfellows is also fitted with a manually operated righting system achieved by means of a gas buoyancy bag mounted on a framework above the engines, which, combined with her inversion proofed engines, allows her to remain operational even after capsize.
Onboard equipment
The lifeboats onboard equipment includes the latest in electronic equipment including radar, a chart plotter and VHF radio direction finding equipment. Running around the outside of the hull is an inflatable tube constructed of tough Nylon weave. This tube, or sponson is made up of separate compartments. If one of the compartments is accidentally punctured then the others will remain inflated. Should all the compartments become compromised the lifeboat would still be capable of floating without the sponson. The sponson allowing the boat to operate in rough seas and provides fendering when going alongside other vessels.