RNLB Helen Smitton (ON 603)
{{Short description|Watson-class lifeboat built in 1910}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image= Helen Smitton launch, St Abbs, 1911.jpg | Ship image size= 250px | Ship caption= Helen Smitton being launched at St Abbs, 1911 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country=United Kingdom | Ship flag=File:Flag of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.svg | Ship name= Helen Smitton | Ship namesake= | Ship owner= | Ship operator= | Ship builder=Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched= | Ship sponsor= James Hodge | Ship christened= | Ship in service= 1911–1936 | Ship homeport= |Ship status=Under restoration {{Infobox|child=yes | label1 = Official Number | data1 = ON 603 }} }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class=Watson-class lifeboat | Ship type= | Ship tonnage= | Ship displacement= | Ship length= {{convert|37.97|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam= {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height= | Ship draught= | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship hold depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship ice class= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion= Primary Oar/Sail plus 37hp Wolseley petrol engine | Ship sail plan= | Ship speed= | Ship range= | Ship endurance= | Ship test depth= | Ship boats= | Ship capacity= | Ship troops= | Ship complement= | Ship crew= | Ship time to activate= | Ship sensors= | Ship EW= | Ship armament= | Ship armour= | Ship armor= | Ship aircraft= | Ship aircraft facilities= | Ship notes= }} |
RNLB Helen Smitton (ON 603) is a Watson-class lifeboat built by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company in 1910. Helen Smitton served as the lifeboat at St Abbs, Berwickshire, Scotland from 1911 to 1936 and was the village's first lifeboat.{{cite web | url=http://www.stabbslifeboat.org.uk | title=St Abbs Lifeboats | publisher=stabbslifeboat.org.uk | access-date=2025-03-07}}
Design and construction
Helen Smitton is a non-self-righting, 38-ft Watson-class lifeboat constructed from Honduras mahogany on Canadian rock elm frames and stringers. Her floors are iron. A layer of calico coated with white lead paste sits between each layer of the hull. A 1.5 ton fixed iron ballast keel and a triangular drop keel that passes through the fixed keel are present. She was powered by a 37 hp Wolseley petrol engine. That engine is now missing.{{cite web
|url = http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/2220/helen-smitton
|title = Helen Smitton
|work=National Register of Historic Vessels
|year = 2011
|publisher = National Historic Ships
|access-date = 11 June 2013
Preservation
Helen Smitton is undergoing preservation work at Marloes, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, having been reduced to little more than a bare hull in poor condition and with structural problems. 95% of her original wooden hull remains. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels by National Historic Ships, with certificate number 2220.
References
{{reflist}}
{{National Historic Ships}}
{{Watson Class Lifeboats}}
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Smitton}}
Category:Watson-class lifeboats
Category:Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels
Category:Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats by name