The Watson-class P&S lifeboat is a design of wooden lifeboat, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1888 and 1991. There were several variations over the years but all the boats had hulls that conformed to a design by George Lennox Watson (30 October 1851 – 12 November 1904), the RNLI's naval architect from 1887 until his death in 1904.
Pulling and sailing lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats are ones utilising both sails and oars for propulsion. Early lifeboats had as few as 4 oarsmen, but some later and larger craft operated with up to 16 oarsmen and 3 other crew.
The majority of lifeboats in service with the RNLI during the second half of the nineteenth century were of the Self-Righting type, designed to operate in rough seas close to the shore. Usually, the boat would have a heavy iron keel, and strategically fitted buoyancy aids, which would bring the boat upright following a capsize.
Some stations, which required a better sea-going boat, preferred the greater stability of a non-self-righting boat, such as the class of lifeboat. This was especially relevant to those operating in shallow conditions, where a capsized boat might get caught on the sea-bottom and not self-right. Following the Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster, George Lennox Watson designed a new non-self-righting hull shape for the RNLI, which was first used for the construction of RNLB Edith and Annie (ON 208), built in 1888.
A further 42 pulling and sailing lifeboats were built to Watson's design, the last in 1915, some 11 years after his death. They came in a variety of lengths to suit the needs of the different stations where they were based, the most common being . The first ten were constructed by no fewer than eight different boat-builders, but the remaining 33 were constructed by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, although the last one, Staughton (ON 637), was completed after a gap of five years, by S. E. Saunders, following the insolvency of Thames Ironworks.
RNLB Jones-Gibb (ON 538) was the last Watson P&S lifeboat on service, withdrawn from in 1939, and also outlasting Albert Edward (ON 463), which had received a motor conversion in 1912, and operating until 1932.
Following trials of P&S lifeboats with an added engine, the RNLI started the production of motor-powered Watson-class lifeboats in 1908. Over the next 55 years, 171 boats of various designs were built based on Watson's hull design. For more information, see:– Watson-class lifeboat
Watson-class P&S lifeboat fleet