Rescue Boat

The Club Rescue Boat.

The old rescue boat served the club well for 20 years, but it became evident that the old boat would not serve the membership well if they required to be pulled from the water both wet and possibly exhausted.

The outlay for a complete set up was considerable, and much discussion took place. It was decided to split the cost up and try to obtain a hull only, then fit a new engine later. We made the choice of a Valient DR490 (the DR stands for dive/rescue) we then set about getting quotes.

The use of the old engine was questionable as it is short shaft, would it even drive the new boat? IBS boats lent us the hull and we put the old engine on the back, fingers were crossed, off we set with three on board. It pushed the boat rapidly up to about 6 knots then it cavitated, OK not great, but it worked.

We went ahead and ordered the boat from IBS who fitted it all up for us, including our old engine. Getting the professionals to do this is a must, you can only imagine how a boat fitted out by a committee would have turned out!

As this boat represented a considerable investment it was decided that only trained drivers would be allowed to helm it. Doug set up an extensive training course both in the classroom and on the water, several members of Eyotts also took advantage of this excellent training. Many thanks to Doug for all the work and time he put in free of charge to the clubs.

After one year and with more funds available it was decided to upgrade the engine. Again, after much discussion about make, type, size and HP, even could we make do with the old one? It was decided to get a Mariner 40 HP with power tilt, power tilt so that the engine/prop would not get damaged on launch and recovery or in shallow water operation.

This rig is now fast, it can get to a casualty quickly and is highly manoeuvrable, very stable and safe in rough water. The engine choice I think is right offering both the power to pull dinghies and yachts in a blow and flexible enough to operate at low speeds following a dinghy fleet around the buoys.

For a list of authorised trained drivers see here.

For instructions on launch and recovery see here.