The Keith Nelson-class lifeboat was an experimental lifeboat, built for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and designed to test the capabilities of a Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) hull in the most severe weather conditions, in order to assess its possibilities for future use in life-boat construction, which might allow higher speeds, and reduce construction costs.
Design and Construction The origins of the Keith Nelson-class lifeboat can be found back in 1955, when Peter Thornycroft, grandson of boat-builder John Thornycroft, founded a company along with Keith Butt and Arthur Nelson Crompton, becoming Keith, Nelson and Co. Ltd of Bembridge. The all-GRP Nelson 34 was produced successfully from 1962, and a version followed in 1964, built by Halmatic of Havant. Thornycroft then established T.T. Boat Designs Ltd. of Bembridge in 1965.
In 1968, the RNLI, ordered a standard boat, working on the design of the deck and internal layout in conjunction with T.T. Boat Designs Ltd. and Keith, Nelson & Co. Ltd. The boat was fitted with twin 125-hp Thornycroft T400 6-cylinder four-stroke turbo-charged diesel engines, providing a top speed of , and a range of at the cruising speed of . The lifeboat, costing £24,559, was given the operational number 40-001, and named Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde (ON 1017), funded from the legacy of Mrs Hinde. Just one boat was commissioned.
Service Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde would first see service at the newly established station at , arriving in April 1969. Her first service, on 26 April 1969, saw the rescue of three people from the yacht Degree, with first aid rendered to one man with a cut to his hand, and the yacht retrieved to Sheerness Docks.
By July, the boat was already away for repairs. A return to service in August was also short-lived, and she was replaced in late November 1969 by the 46-foot Watson-class lifeboat, Canadian Pacific (ON 803), a boat already over 30-years-old, and capable of just knots. However, even in the short time on station at Sheerness, Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde was called 32 times, saving 4 lives.
After being sent for a complete overhaul, Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde was assigned in 1970 to , a lifeboat station sitting at the mouth of Southampton Water. She would serve there for the next 15 years, eventually being sold from service in 1985. During that time, she had been launched 199 times, recording 88 lives saved.
Fleet ON Op. No. Name Built Station Comments1017 Elizabeth Ellen Hinde1968 1969 Keith Nelson-class lifeboat, legacy of Mrs Hinde, built by Halmatic of Havant and Keith, Nelson and Co. Ltd. of Bembridge, with twin 125-hp Thornycroft T400 6-cylinder four-stroke turbo-charged diesel engines, costing £24,559. Sold 1985.Renamed Parhelia, based at Carrickfergus until 2024, now in Castleford, West Yorkshire for restoration, February 2025. 1970–1985
See also Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
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