The 35ft 6in Self-righting motor-class was a displacement hull lifeboat built in single engine form between 1921 and 1940 and in twin-engined form between 1947 and 1950. The boats were operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) between 1921 and 1965.

History The need to provide carriage-launched motor lifeboats had first been addressed with the self-righting motor type of 1921. Three of these boats were built and were, to all intents and purposes, pulling and sailing lifeboats, with an auxiliary engine.

The definitive boat for production appeared in 1929, longer and with the same beam as the second and third 35-foot types. After the first two boats had been put on station, a crash programme of production was instituted in 1931 and twelve boats were produced that year. These gave many stations their first motor lifeboats, but experience proved that stability was lacking and from RNLB Caroline Parsons (ON 763), beam was increased by . The final two single engine boats saw further beam increases, to and respectively.

In common with the similar but non-self-righting , post war production switched to twin-engined versions, but only five were built. The RNLI was increasingly switching to more stable non-self-righting lifeboats, and the single engine 35-foot 6in self-righting motor lifeboats were replaced at most stations by boats in the early 1950s, after around twenty years service. The twin-engined boats had even shorter lives, three being replaced by a Liverpool-class, and two others by boats, after less than fifteen-years service.

Description The challenge of producing a motor lifeboat light enough to be manhandled for carriage launching resulted in a boat weighing around . The single RNLI-designed, Weyburn Engineering built AE6 6-cylinder petrol engine produced 35-bhp, and sat in a watertight engine room beneath pent roof access hatches ahead of an aft cockpit shelter, from where the mechanic operated the engine controls. Apart from a small shelter forward, the boats were open. As described above, beam was increased during production in an attempt to improve stability.

After World War II, five twin-engined boats were built which had a beam of and a larger shelter covering the engine room and very similar to the contemporary twin engined . The first two of these boats were powered by twin 18bhp Weyburn AE4 4-cylinder petrol engines, but the final three had twin 20bhp Ferry FKR3 3-cylinder diesel engines.

Fleet Single engine lifeboats ON Name Built Stations Comments655Priscilla Macbean1921 1921–1927 x lifeboat, legacy of Mr Macbean, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, with single 15-hp Miller engine, costing £6,623. Sold 1934.Renamed Laurita. Now as Priscilla Macbean at Hastings Shipwreck Museum, December 2025. 1928–1931 1931–1934 683Herbert Joy1923 1924–1931 x lifeboat, gift of Mr Joy, built by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, with single 35-hp Sage engine, costing £3,691. Sold 1937.Renamed Swallow. Broken up at Camber Dock, Portsmouth, November 1995. 1931–1937 Relief fleet7031927 1927–1929 x lifeboat costing £4,961, built by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, with single 30-hp Halford engine. Weyburn AE6 engine fitted, 1930. Sold 1949.Last reported at Morecambe, November 1949. 1929–1931 Relief fleet 1931–1937 1937–1949

Single engine lifeboats, with single 35-hp Weyburn AE6 6-cylinder petrol engine ON Name Built Stations Comments726City of Nottingham1929 1930–1936 x lifeboat, gift of the City of Nottingham LB fund, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £4,596. Sold 1950.Renamed Margaret Rose and Dauntless. Restored to original as City of Nottingham, at Lawrenny Quay, Daugleddau estuary, January 2025. 1936–1949 727Westmorland1930 1930–1940 x lifeboat, gift of the Westmoreland LB fund, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £4,597. Sold June 1951.Renamed Swallow, owned by Northern Shipbreakers, Peterhead, 1961. 1940–1951 737 Louisa Polden 1931 1931–1951 x lifeboat, gift of Mr Polden and family, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,758. Sold 1951.Broken up at Stockton-on-Tees in the 1980s.738J. H. W.1931 1931–1939 x lifeboat, legacies of Mrs May, Mr Haworth, Mrs Sackville and Mr Johnson, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,821. Sold April 1948.Renamed Follie and later Navette, last seen, Thames area, 1990s. 1939–1947 Padstow No.2 739 1931 1931–1952 x lifeboat, gift of Mrs L. Glen, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,743. Sold May 1952.Renamed Ivy Dale, later Seeker II. Last reported derelict in a field off Harbour Road, Rye, June 2014. 740 Cyril and Lilian Bishop 1931 1931–1950 x lifeboat, gift of Mrs L. Philpott, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,821. Sold November 1950.Renamed Thekla, later Lindy Lou (CN-182). Restored as Cyril and Lilian Bishop, on permanent display at the Shipwreck Museum, Hastings, December 2025. 741 Morison Watson 1931 1931–1953 x lifeboat, legacy of Mrs Watson, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,718. Sold 1953.Renamed Scauronian. Broken up at Terregles, Dumfries, August 1998. 742 Herbert Joy II 1931 1931–1951 x lifeboat, gift of Mr A. O. Joy, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,791. Sold 1951.Renamed Viking Raumur. Broken up at Acaster Boatyard, York in the 1980s.743John and Sarah Eliza Stych1931 1931–1938 Padstow No.1 x lifeboat, legacies of Mr and Mrs Stych, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,754.Capsized and wrecked on service, seven crew lost, 23 Jan 1939. 1938–1939 744 Laurana Sarah Blunt 1931 1931–1952 x lifeboat, legacy of Dr G. V. Blunt, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,812. Sold 1952.Renamed Laurana (UL3). Broken up west of Ullapool, 2005.745Lady Harrison1931 1931–1948 x lifeboat, gift of Sir Heath Harrison, , built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,754. Sold 1952.Renamed Neula, Isle of Skomer and Merch-y-Mor. Destroyed by fire at Husbands Shipyard, Marchwood, Southampton, April 2005. 1949–1951 746William Maynard1931 1931–1939 x lifeboat, legacy of Rev W. S. F. Maynard, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,804. Sold February 1953.Renamed Endura. Lost in English Channel off Dungeness, December 1970. 1939–1941 Relief fleet 1941–1948 Ferryside 1948–1949 1949–1953 Relief fleet747Stanhope Smart1931 1931–1947 x lifeboat, legacy of Mr S. Smart, built by Saunders-Roe of Cowes, costing £3,742. Sold 1951.Last reported in Liberia, 1951. 1947–1951 Padstow No.2 748 Mary Ann Blunt 1931 1931–1950 x lifeboat, legacy of Dr G. V. Blunt, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,791. Sold 1951.Last reported with Balbriggan Sea Scouts, 1951. 752 John and William Mudie 1932 1932–1950 x lifeboat, legacies of Miss I. Mudie and Miss E. Mudie, built by John I. Thornycroft & Company of Chiswick, costing £3,233. Sold June 1951.Renamed Hunting Call, later Sharon. Ashore at Kingholm Quay, Dumfries, August 2025. 756 Civil Service No.4 1932 1932–1948 x lifeboat, gift of the Civil Service LB fund, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,342.Damaged beyond economic repair on service, 16 June 1948.Sold 1948. Renamed M. G. M., later Sandy K. Last reported as a yacht in Newfoundland in 1970. 757 Frederick Angus 1932 1932–1949 x lifeboat, legacy of Mr F. Angus, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,326. Sold August 1949.Renamed Yr Ystwyth. Last reported as a damaged yacht, at Oakford, Nr Aberaeron, August 2015. 763 Caroline Parsons 1933 1933–1938 x lifeboat, legacies of Miss Parsons and Mrs Noy, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,213.Capsized and wrecked on service, 31 January 1938 767 Catherine Harriet Eaton 1933 1933–1953 x lifeboat, legacy of Rev C. P. Eaton, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,009. Sold 1953.Renamed Sharan. Wrecked in Martins Haven Bay, Pembrokeshire, 1976. 768 Thomas and Annie Wade Richards 1933 1933–1953 x lifeboat, legacies of Dr T. Richards and Miss S. Lewis, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,010. Sold 1953.Renamed Craiglais, Will Ifan and Dolphin (AB6). Believed to have been broken up at Tranmere, 2003/04.785Sir Heath Harrison1936 1936–1949 x lifeboat, gift of Lady Mary Harrison, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,279. Sold January 1956.Renamed King John III. Last reported as Pilot Boat, Western Dock, Dover, December 1979. 1949–1955 Relief fleet 826 Guide of Dunkirk 1940 1941–1963 Lizard-Cadgwith x lifeboat, gift of the 'Girl Guides of the Empire', built by Rowhedge Ironworks of Rowhedge, Essex, costing £5,523. Sold 1963.Renamed Girl Guide, later Ex-RNLB Guide of Dunkirk at Mevagissey Harbour. Sold 2025, now fully restored by Abbey Boat Builders at Reedham, Norfolk, September 2026.

Twin engine All twin engined lifeboats were long by beam ON Name Built Stations Comments851Tillie Morrison, Sheffield1947 1947–1953 Gift of Messrs. J & D Morrison, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, with twin 18-hp Weyburn AE4 engines, costing £10,573.Capsized on service at Bridlington on 19 August 1952, one crew member lost.Sold November 1959. Renamed Imshi and Elizabeth. Restored for display as Tillie Morrison, Sheffield, now in storage at (closed) Bodafon Farm Park, Llandudno, April 2024. 1953–1959 878 M. T. C.(Mechanised Transport Corps) 1950 1950–1963 Gift of the Trained Women Driver's Assoc., in commemoration of the Mechanised Transport Corp, built by Groves & Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 18-hp Weyburn AE4 engines, costing £11,283. Sold 1964.Renamed Good Fortune, later John Stuart (BH 211). Derelict in a field at Pinfold Lane, Bridlington, November 2016.879E. C. J. R.1950 1951–1956 Legacies of Mr Wildish, Mr Mundy, Mr Chrichton and Mrs Wood, built by Groves & Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 20-hp FKR3 diesel engines, costing £12,095.Capsized on service with three crew lost, 8 December 1954. Sold March 1963.Renamed Tyne Trident, later Can-Y-Don (AB 115). Semi-derelict at Loch Harport, Isle of Skye, November 2024. 1956–1963 Relief fleet 880 1950 1951–1963 Legacy of Miss Bolton and a gift from the Northumberland War Distress Relief Fund, built by Groves & Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 20-hp FKR3 diesel engines, costing £12,548. Sold 1964.Renamed R. A. J.. Last reported as Isaac and Mary Bolton at Loosdrecht, Netherlands, August 2025. 881 City of Leeds 1950 1951–1965 Gift of the City of Leeds LB fund, built by Groves & Guttridge of Cowes, with twin 20-hp FKR3 diesel engines, costing £13,939. Sold March 1965.Renamed Sea Llex (LO 283). Last reported at Walney Channel, Barrow-in-Furness, October 1996.

Notes

References

External links RNLI